I head to Adobe.com to check out Photoshop Elements 8. They have a trial version so I give it a shot.
First, a browser window pops up asking you to log in to adobe.com. I complete that. Then it says it will download an Akamai Downloader.
The Akamai Downloader downloads and mounts the disk image. It asks me where to save, defaulting to my home directory of all places.
I choose Downloads. This is a Macintosh after all.
I run the Akamai Downloader, and it puts up a minimal window with just a title and a progress bar beneath it. Yes, this “Window” is 20 pixels tall.
Then the window flashes several times and it quits. Now I am sitting at the Finder, with no UI. No Adobe nor Akami apps are running.
I look in Activity Monitor and see this new process, “rsmac_3276″ running. That is a very descriptive process name.
Next i bring Safari forward and now, in the same window I originally downloaded this Akamai Downloader from, is a progress bar with the download.
So apparently, this Akamai Downloader is a Safari Plugin.
The download finishes and it asks me if I want to open the disk image. I select yes, but the disk image is corrupted, so it won’t mount.
Awesome.
Meanwhile, I close the installer window in Safari and I notice this rsmac_4276 process is still running, still using cycles. About 0.3% cpu.
I force quit the process and it immediately launches again.
So awesome, now they have some daemon that won’t go away and is using cpu cycles for no reason. Maybe it is tracking my use of the trial and dialing home, I have not checked yet.
What an awful, awful experience. Should I have expected better?
Update:
I had to delete com.akamai.client.plist from ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ and reboot in order to get rid of this software.
Update 2:
I found a bunch of other daemons installed, like bresink’s for an older hardware monitor I had used two machines ago, a textwrangler agent when I tested that for someone, and three, yes three Google daemons for updating software and such.
Time Machine, Apple’s awesome automatic backup software is very aggressive about backing up your data because, well, that is it’s job.
I’m beta testing a game with a large number of files that change constantly. The folder for the game is around 16GB of data, so I don’t want any of this backed up. I used Time Machine’s exclusion list (found by clicking the Options button in the Time Machine System Preference Pane) to add the game’s beta folder. This worked fantastic, until….
Recently they asked us to delete the game and install from scratch. Not a problem. However, while the new installer did it’s job, it put all of the new content in “Game Beta-Temp”, instead of “Game Beta” Time Machine saw this and starting backing up the now constantly changing temp folder which at the time contained over 10gb of data.
Hmm, what to do. Well, I could add the temp folder to the exclusion list, but what if they change the name of the temp folder in the next build? My solution was simple, I created a folder that would hold the game, and added that folder to Time Machine’s exclusion list.
Now, I have /Application/Game Beta Time Machine Exclusion Folder/
When the game asks where to install, I select the exclusion folder and install inside of that. I have added the Exclusion Folder to Time Machine’s Exclusion list such that anything created by the game or it’s installers in the future will never be backed up.
When the iPhone 4 shipped, Boxwave ran a promotion to get a free case (for $4.50 shipping). My case finally arrived some 5 weeks or so later.
I ordered [an eclipse crystal slip](http://www.boxwave.com/products/eclipsecrystalslip/apple-iphone-4-eclipse-crystal-slip-case_3968.htm]. The case is quite nice. It provides enough grip so the phone doesn’t slide everywhere, but is also slick enough to not grip my wallet when in a pocket.
The case does not attract lint, but does attract fingerprints. It pulls over the edges fairly easily.
The best part is, the case resolved whatever signal drop issues I had with my microcell. Even in the worst death grip possible, I only dropped to 2 bars and while a tad garbled, I could hear the caller, they could hear me and the call never dropped.
The color isn’t my favorite, it is more brown than “smoke gray”
It feels as though the case is thick enough to take off some of the concern of dropping an iPhone 4 on a corner and shattering it. However, the case is also thin enough with large enough openings to make access to the silence switch easy, even for those with short fingernails.
So while you’re not going to show this case off to friends for how cool it looks, (and after all, the iPhone without a case is about as cool as it gets) this is certainly an affordable option to protect your iPhone 4 and possibly help with any reception issue you might be having.
Apple’s been fantastically successful, there is no denying that. Starting with the iMac, then with the hit iPod, moving to the iPhone and now the iPad, Apple has been hitting product home runs for 12 years now.
The Macintosh software that controls the iOS world, however, has been evolutionary at best. It is obvious that the software teams are scrambling to keep up with new devices and new features coming at a blistering pace.
iTunes has suffered the most. If ever there was a case study for the bastardization of a piece of software, it is iTunes. iTunes was originally derived from Cassady & Green’s wonderful Sound Jam. Apple bought the software and has been hacking on it ever since.
Let’s take a quick overview of a Macintosh user’s experience with using an iPhone, for example.
I can buy software for my iPhone in iTunes on the Mac, or the App Store application on the iPhone
I sync music to and from my iPhone with iTunes
I sync applications to and from my iPhone with iTunes
I sync podcasts to and from my iPhone with iTunes
I sync movies I bought from Apple to and from my iPhone with iTunes
I sync movies I made with iMovie on the Mac to my iPhone with iTunes
I sync movies I made with iMovie on my iPhone to my Mac with iPhoto
I sync photos I have on my Mac to my iPhone with iTunes
I sync photos I took on my iPhone to my Mac with iPhoto
I access movies I took on my iPhone with iMovie on the Mac via iPhoto
I sync my contacts/bookmarks/notes via mobile me, or via itunes, or via google.
I could go on. Confused? Yeah, so is every other Apple customer.
The iWorld has to change.
As a Macintosh user since February of 1984, I’ve seen plenty of changes in the OS I use from Apple. Some good, some not so good. Other areas, such as application install and removal are horrendous on the Mac.
The iPhone, however, is fairly straightforward. Updating your software on the iPhone is a one button task. That is very nice.
Wouldn’t it be nice if updating software on your Mac was a one button process? Wouldn’t it be nice if moving your data to and from an iOS device was a one button process?
I think this is where Apple should go, is going but we just don’t know how nor when.
First off, Apple will drop “OS X” as the Macintosh operating name. It’ll simply become iOS for Mac. The “X” part was short lived anyway. We all know it. Steve has shown that he has the cajones to make these big changes, and frankly, people who are not fans of Macs, yet know about Macs, don’t know about “OS X” as a brand. They know “Mac” as the brand name.
So ok, we have a name change. Then what?
I think we need an App Store for the Mac. Now this would not be the same kind of App store that other iOS devices have, in that it would not be the only way to get software on your Mac, but if you were a Mac developer, you’d sure want it to be a way for people to get your software.
iOS 7 for Mac (the renamed OS X 10.7) would support a number of cool changes. Applications would be bundled as signed entities, so customers knew they were getting legit software. These bundled applications could include screensavers, kernel extensions, launch demons, fonts, spotlight plugins, quicklook plugins, basically every piece of software a Mac application needs.
When a user installs an application via the App Store, all of the included software is enabled. No need to reboot. It just works. When the user deletes the application, all of the software is removed from the system (including kernel extensions) No muss, no fuss.
Ok so what about data? Applications would be given a default storage location in the user’s documents. This is different from how iOS works on your iPhone for example (where each application is given a complete Documents file system) but the software doesn’t care as it uses APIs to find the folders in the first place, right developers?
Ok so now we have a quick way to get apps on and off of a Macintosh, very similar to an iPhone or iPad. Novice users can feel good about getting their software this way, as it has been run through at least some Apple tools to look for malware and the like. Advanced users can install software any way they like, but it won’t be as easily removed.
Novice users also know that they can look in a known place for their documents. Again, all defaults, but if they stick with that, fine, it works for them.
Removing an application gets rid of every bit of software the application polluted your computer with. Removing the application does not remove your documents, which is different than the iPhone, but hey, this is a computer.
Next up is sharing data. Soon we’ll have iOS Apple TVs, cloud syncing to North Carolina, two iPhones per average family, two iPads, two or three Macs and we’ll need a better way to share content.
Apple will introduce in iOS 7 for Mac a new centralized content sharing system. I like the term system because it connotes a strong bond between user and software to understand how things should work.
This new system will have a central syncing component. It will handing syncing all of your iWorld data, including contacts, bookmarks, notes, movies, music, photos. Think of it as iSync done right.
You won’t care how this all happens. The data coming from your iDevices will be stored in well-known places. Software, such as iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie will change to use the database index over this data for faster access.
You’ll never have to launch an app again to sync. You’ll just plug in. Or it’ll happen wirelessly, over your lan, or via the cloud in North Carolina. You just won’t care.
Apple will release the App Store app for iOS for Macintosh. You’ll use it to buy new software. You’ll be able to do this via a web browser, too. Just buy it and it automatically starts syncing to the computers you decide, right there and then. It’s like using an app to schedule your DVR. Same concept. Buy, direct, use.
You’ll shoot video on your phone, walk in the house and it will start syncing to your iWorld. This could include one, or many Macs. It may have syncing to the cloud already while you were in the car. The options are clear in the software. You choose.
You walk in the door, turn on your TV and your movie that you edited in iMovie for iPad is there for you to share with your wife. Simple as that. And there is a good chance the movie is already backed up to your Time Capsule by now.
The Mac needs to remain a computer, but it also needs to become an appliance. Purchase, set it up and use it. We should no longer be required to have IT degrees to manage our home networks.
Once Apple has all of the iWorld pieces in place, we’ll mock ourselves for how we did things back in 2010.
What can I say about Washington Square Apple Store genius’ other than awesome?
Brandon and Kari went above and beyond my expectations in dealing with my Late 2008 MacBook Pro that kept kernel panicing in games. On top of that, it had a flakey superdrive, so they upgraded me to an all new laptop.
Talk about fantastic and unexpected. Thank you guys so much!
Steve
P.S. 3 hours in WoW so far, no kernel panics. Keeping fingers crossed!
P.P.S. Once again, Time Capsule rocks. Now to get Time Machine to finish its first backup after the restore. It seems to be a little confused and has started over from scratch once.
When connected to the microcell, I can lay in bed on my back and cause the signal to drop from 5 bars to 1 bar. If I turn on my side, it goes back to 5 bars.
I can only surmise that my body is blocking enough signal to cause the iPhone to give up all hope.
My wife and I travelled to Canada over the weekend to visit family and I had the chance to test the iPhone 4 on the road.
My wife drove up so I was able to test the iPhone 4 during the 5 hour drive from Portland to Vancouver, BC.
I used the phone until the border, when I ran out of AT&T service.
Signal
Along the route, I had signal for 98% of the distance. Most of that was 3G, with sections of EDGE in between.
The signal strength ran the gamut, from 1 through 5 bars. When I ran out of 3G, the phone quickly switched over to EDGE and more often than not, continued data transfer with whatever I was doing.
A couple of times, some process, such as loading a web page or checking mail would stall. Starting the process over fixed the issue.
At one point, I received an email from my brother with a 7MB video attached. I looked at the minute mark on the clock and began the download. The download completed before the minute mark ticked over! That was the most impressive experience of the trip.
GPS
The GPS experience on the iPhone 4 is much, much better than on the 3GS. I used both Navigon and Google Maps to test out the accuracy and was consistently surprised.
Navigon would pick up the GPS in a matter of seconds. The directions were spot on, the signage in Navigon was always correct and it even showed a tunnel graphic when we were in the coveted express lanes in Seattle.
The coolest demo if the accuracy came in the mountains before Bellingham. Navigon puts up a little speed limit sign to let you know how fast you can drive, legally that is. The current limit was 70mph and I saw a sign coming up dropping the rate to 60.
As we passed the sign, and I mean exactly as we passed the sign, Navigon’s icon changed to 60 mph. I was astonished and convinced that the GPS is much, much better in the iPhone 4.
WiFi
Our hosts have no need for WiFi and as such, don’t have a base station. In order to allow us to tool around on the internet, I used Internet Sharing on my MacBook Pro to share their internet connection over WiFi.
Their house is sturdily built. I would float between 1 and 3 bars of signal. Sometimes the iPhone would stop working entirely, other times it worked fine.
I did place a FaceTime call to my brother which worked fairly well. We had two incidences where the call froze, but it resumed in about 10 seconds. My niece asked if the power had gone out.
At home, the WiFi signal is strong throughout, so if you have a strong base station, you should be ok on the iPhone 4. If you’re using a weaker base station, such as a MacBook Pro, try to not place it in the basement.
The other test of WiFi was while we were at lunch. The restaurant had free WiFi so we used it to load up google maps of the local area (We didn’t want to pay the $15/mb data roaming fees!) and find all of our local destinations. Once we had those, we were able to find our way around quite easily. Unlike at the house, the wifi at the restaurant was rock solid.
Battery
I burned about 50% of my phone’s battery in 3 hours. While using Navigon, I used a belkin car charger on the quick charge side. That worked well for charging the phone up quickly.
The iPhone 4 does use battery quickly, but it seems to have more longevity than the 3GS.
Conclusion
The iPhone 4 made a very long drive much more pleasant. I was able to check email, surf the web, check facebook, check twitter and read news with Reeder. I look forward to the day that I can FaceTime while traveling at 70 mph, as a passenger at least.
How long will it be before we have ScreenTime? Start a FaceTime call and switch to showing what is my screen (sans the image of the other person). Would be useful for support, no?
Find the iPhone User Guide bookmark in Safari on your phone. Select it, then tap the plus sign to add it to your Home screen for quick access.View it now
An Apple representative will show you the basics and a few advanced tips. Before you call, make sure you have a Wi-Fi connection. Call 1-888-FACETIMEfrom 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CDT.
According to this Engadget story, Steve Jobs has responded to a customer’s email about the reception issues, telling the customer to “avoid holding it that way”
Uh, hello?
Later in the article, Apple claims that cases will help the issue, but my brother has reported that the Apple-sold bumper case did not help in his tests.
A lot of people are talking about FaceTime, Apple’s new iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 video chat.
I’ve had three calls now and all were very successful. The video and audio quality is amazing.
The wifi range on the iPhone 4 is incredible, allowing me to cross the street, when my Airport Extreme N (100baseT) was in the back of the house (upper floor).
So it’s very cool, but where is Apple going with this? John Gruber thinks it is Apple’s end-run around the carriers, eventually allowing calls without minutes. That might be true, but I bet they’ll find a way to just charge for data instead.
What I do foresee, and this is not an Apple-specific vision, is FaceTime exploding once we’re all on LTE networks.
Imagine CNN’s iReport. You’ll have a “number” to call and your video will start streaming to CNN. A director (or a bullpen of them) will have three 30″ screens, each with hundreds of iReport FaceTime streams. Each stream will show for 5 seconds and move on to the next one.
A director can touch (or click) a stream and have it go live on iReport.
A world full of videographers. Something happening right now at the capital? Bamn, it’s on TV or the web. No need to record and then upload, that is so 2009. Just stream it.
We’ll see a resurgence of live web-cams, but this time it’ll be people flav-a-flaving their FaceTime devices by hanging them around their necks and walking around.
There will be SpyTime devices, that put little cameras in your hat.
Is this good or bad for us? Time, or rather FaceTime, will surely tell.
I hate having had to pay AT&T $150 for a Cisco 3G Microcell, but I did so out of frustration with the crappy signal we have here in north vancouver, washington.
After authorizing the device, I added my wife’s and my cell number to the account.
Then I plugged the Microcell into power and my network via Ethernet.
After about 30 minutes, the cell picked up GPS (for E-911) and 3G.
I placed the unit at the top of our stereo rack, next to a window about 6′ off the ground.
The iPhone 4 switched to “AT&T M-Cell” instantly, at a full 5 bars.
Elizabeth’s 3GS didn’t switch, so I rebooted her phone and it fixed the problem. She had 5 bars also.
I called her and went upstairs. The worst signal I had was 1 bar in the hallway, with my hand wrapped around the iphone. I set it on the banister and it jumped back to 5 bars.
I then went out into the back yard into the furthest corner from the microcell and still had two bars and a clear connection to her.
She then walked across the street to get the mail and kept the connection to the microcell. She then went down the street to the corner while we kept the call.
She came home, her on 5 bars, me on 3, but both with a strong audio quality call.
I hung up and we both reset to AT&T network. After about 15 seconds, I switched back to the microcell and about 15 seconds later, her 3GS switched back also.
Never before have I had such a strong, quick bluetooth signal with any combination of headset and phone.
This same headset would connect slowly to the iPhone 3GS, or sometimes make a lot of static and then disconnect.
Not with the iPhone 4. I talked for almost two hours to various people. The quality was very clear. When someone called, a touch resulted in a picked up call near instantly.
After turning the Jawbone on, it quickly connected to the phone. It was ready for use with voice dialing almost immediately.
Inside the house I was able to go 25′ away with no audio quality loss.
I am very happy with the iPhone 4′s bluetooth prowess!
I’m one of the lucky ones to get an iPhone 4 and also run into the issue where touching the stainless steel band/antenna on the sides causes signal degradation.
Here is what I can tell you:
The signal degradation happens when the overall signal is weak. I may have 5 bars, but as soon as I touch it, it drops. However, if I move around without touching the metal, say go outside, it is also 1 bar.
If the signal is strong, say near towers, freeways, or in an AT&T store, no manner of touching causes this issue. I held it with two fingers, four fingers, the palm, etc.
Update 2010-06-22: When connected to the microcell at 5 bars, no matter where/how I touch, the bars do not drop. However, if I am upstairs, about 50′ from the microcell, then touching the phone affects the bars reading.
I tried updating 6 apps via the iPhone 4 today. 4 updated, 2 did not. They have the empty progress bar badge across their icons. Rebooting the phone asks me for my iTunes password, but they won’t update. Fun!
Update: Never mind, it is updating Navigon at 1.5gb on the last page.
