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Get your Google on
Search engines, webmail, maps and even mobile phones. Short of coffee and Dilbert comics, there is nary a workplace essential that Google hasn't attempted to usurp.
One of the big selling points for all of Google's ventures is the bounty of open-source development that each inevitably encourages. Google loves it when you take their widgets, aps, and services and tie them into your own site.
Now, that love is being spread to Mac users.
The company has released a collection of APIs for Mac developers under the banner "Google Toolbox for Mac."
The code samples will give developers a base to use when creating Mac software that uses one or more Google services. The toolbox should be a welcome addition as Google continues on its borg-like quest to put its name in front of every computing function ever known to man.
Things that make you go 'boom'
Lace up those sneakers and roll up those sleeves, someone has finally created a tutorial on how to deliver a keynote like Saint Steve.
Businessweek has a ten-point program on how to deliver your presentation just like Jobs does. The outline includes insights as to how his Jobs-ness does business, such as the ever-present keynote theme or the emphasis on favorable statistics.
No mention, however, of the famous Jobs reality-distortion field or the legions of adoring fanboys who will cheer even if the screen goes black, so it won't get you all the way there.
Something in the Air tonight
For those of you who have pre-ordered a MacBook Air, good news. The ultra-thin laptops have begun shipping to customers.
Those of you who didn't learn from the iPhone can pony up the primo bucks for the Rev. A version of the super-thin laptop.
Let the reviews, teardowns, and un-boxings begin!
New iPhone flaw discovered
SecurityFocus has the dirt on a new vulnerability in the iPhone.
Reportedly, there exists a flaw in the mobile version of Safari which can be targeted to cause a denial of service attack, crashing the phone via a specially-crafted web page.
Normally, this type of an attack can also be used to remotely install malware on a machine, though the researchers who found this flaw have yet to confirm that possibility. They have also yet to confirm that the flaw exists on iPhone versions later than 1.1.2, so you may already be protected.
The state of solid-state
One of the biggest features on the new MacBook Air is the optional solid-state hard drive.
For an extra $999, users can choose to equip their new laptops with the new SSD drives. Unlike conventional hard disk drives, which store data on magnetic plates, solid-state drives store data on flash memory chips.
Is the the SSD going to be the next big thing, or are buyers throwing away money on a premature technology?
There are plenty of benefits to SSDs, mainly the reliability that comes from the absence of moving parts and the increased speed. However, there's also a huge cost that comes with it. Apple's thousand-dollar price tag is actually considered on the reasonable side.
Other vendors are offering the drives, but only on high-end business models. HP doesn't plan on SSD's even being feasible for consumer PCs until 2010, when flash memory prices drop low enough to make the drives comparable in cost to HDDs.
On the other hand, Apple does have a reputation for being ahead of the curve. The iPod seemed to be too expensive and high-end when it debuted, but by the time the portable media player market developed, iPod had become the de-facto standard.
Perhaps three or four years from now we'll see other vendor's introducing slim solid-state notebooks and desperately trying to compare themselves to the MacBook Air.
New iPod is tickled pink
Pink is a very polarizing color.
Like George Bush, The Spice Girls, and haggis, you either love it madly or you absolutely can't stand it. For those of you that are all about pink, Apple has just introduced a pink iPod Nano.
There's nothing special about the new player other than its color. No special music packages or charity deals, it's just another plain old run-of-the-mill iPod nano. Except it's pink. If you're one of those people who goes crazy over pastels, that should be more than enough to part you with your cash.
Thoughts on MacSweeper
Wow, with all the Macworld buzz, a rather important story has fallen through the cracks. Now that it's Friday and things have slowed a bit, let's talk about the MacSweeper story.
In case you haven't heard, MacSweeper is a piece of software that advertises itself as a cleaner/anonymizer tool to prevent others from discovering your unsavory browsing habits (not to be confused with "Mac Sweeper", an optimization tool last updated around 2005.) Users are offered a free scan, but cleaning the system will require a purchase.
According to more than one security company, however, MacSweeper doesn't really clean your Mac. In fact, it doesn't do much of anything except take your money.
To clarify, MacSweeper isn't really malware in that it doesn't do anything particularly malicious. It doesn't download any trojans or steal info or create pop-ups.
MacSweeper is what is known as a rogue security program. It offers a fake scan which will always provide positive results in an effort to scare the user into making a purchase, then does nothing to actually fix the problem.
As one VNUnet.com reader noted, this is standard operating practice for a number of rogue PC apps. many will go even further, actually downloading additional malware. So what's the big deal?
The group behind MacSweeper is also believed to be the maker of Spy Sheriff, a rogue security tool for Windows which uses similar tactics to spread. And it spreads well.
Now, they're looking to expand to Mac users who are less familiar with the tactic and far less likely to have security software installed.
That's the big deal.
Social engineering doesn't exploit any security holes, so Apple can't patch it. Some security products are able to scan for suspicious behavior, but even that can be sidestepped by malware writers. Besides, only a minute fraction of Mac users actually use antivirus software, since there is almost no malware targeting the platform.
As one McAfee researcher noted, social engineering is cross-platform. As MacSweeper doesn't do much of anything guys had to do very little mac software development. Most of the work is done in HTML on the web site. Far easier than creating a trojan and finding a vulnerability to exploit.
Science proves it: Mac users are better than you
And you thought the Apple fanboys were insufferable before.
A recent study at the Macworld Expo by a company called Mindset Media has concluded that Mac users tend to be more open-minded, worldly, and intellectually curious than the rest of the population. We're also more liberal, connect deeper with our feelings, and our farts smell like roses.
But I'm sure everyone already knew that.
The study found that a group of the population known as "Openness 5's" is some sixty percent more likely to buy a Mac.
These people tend to be more confident and assured of their own superiority, and often fall on the liberal end of the political spectrum (with the exception of Mac fan Rush Limbaugh) and tend to put a high value on imagination and creativity.
Basically, we really are all just like the "Mac" character from the Apple commercials.
Checking the keynote scorecard
With the Macworld keynote all said and done, I thought it might be nice to unwind a bit by taking a look at some of the pre-speech speculation and compare it to what Mr. Jobs actually rolled out for the adoring throngs at the Moscone Center.
Normally, the Macworld keynote draws all sorts of wild speculations and "can't-miss predictions which of course fail miserable. This year, however, much of the speculation was fairly accurate.In some cases, the actual products matched the predictions to a T.
Time Capsule: This one came out of left field, more or less. Perhaps it was because everyone was so caught up in the other announcements, but if it was considered, a backup device didn't get much airtime.
3G iPhone: Nope. Though Jobs said last year that a 3G iPhone should be expected in 2008, it got nary a mention today. What we did get was a nice fat update that included positioning features and better customization.
New Apple TV: There were rumblings that Apple was going to restructure its TV offerings, though there was some debate as to whether this would mean a new device or a living room PC. Either way, the end-result was achieved- better video and support for rentals.
iTunes movie rentals: This one was just about spot on from what most people were predicting. What was a bit of a shock was the huge number of studios that will launch with the service. Even some of the reporters squealed a bit when Jobs revealed that every major studio was on board.
Macbook Air: This one may have been the worst-kept keynote secret in recent memory. Everyone and their brothers knew this was coming. Still, just about everyone was blown away when it was actually unearthed.
No turning back now
We're one hour away from the big Steve Jobs keynote, and the Mac geek's beacon of hope has been raised.
That's right, the Apple Store has been taken offline. This is a common procedure before Apple unveils a new product, and also an indication that one or more of the upcoming announcements will be available for purchase or pre-order right away.
Goosebumps, anyone?
The night before Macworld
Twas the night before Macworld
and all round the bay
the folks were on edge
for the big keynote day
the fanboys were camped
at Moscone with glee
with dreams of a gadget
from old saint stevie
When up from the valley
came a roar and a scare
they thought that Steve Ballmer
had just thrown a chair
They jumped from their sleeping bags
climbed out of their tents
said "I should have stayed home,
in my room with the 'rents"
A darkened black van
paratroopers in tow
all carried a box
to for the big Apple show
The fans tried to follow
to see what was amidst
but a big pack of lawyers
served a cease-and-desist
But then morning came
and they packed in the hall
and as Jobs-o emerged
they cheered one and all
On iphone! on movies!
On UMPC!
And might I add that Bill Gates
is a Grade-A weenie
And they heard Steven say
as he walked from the room
Happy Macworld too all,
now check this out... boom.
Help Steve get to the keynote!
For those who have dreamt of donning a black turtleneck and taking to the stage with an arsenal of new gadgets, now you can try your hand as Apple CEO.
In SteveNote Expo, you take over the persona of Saint Steve on his way to the Macworld Keynote. The object of the game is to gather all your new gadgets and get to the expo without running into any of those pesky reporters.
So lace up those sneakers, roll up those sleeves, and get ready to "boom" your way to the stage.
Best Buy to open retail stand at Macworld
One of the worst things about trade shows is that there are so many cool products on display, yet unavailable for purchase. This can be doubly true for shows like Macworld, where so many of the vendors are smaller businesses that don't have a big retail reach.
Best Buy is hoping to remedy/capitalize on this situation by setting up a small store on the floor of the Moscone Center this year. The retailer promises to offer some of the products on display at the expo. Of course, this won't do much for all of the stuff that won't be released for a year.
Why Macworld will upstage CES again
Sorry for the dearth of posts lately, the Mac Inspector's alter ego was sent out to the Nevada desert to cover something called "CES." It's this little get together that happens every year in January. Most of us don't pay it much attention, because MacWorld SF occurs around the same time.
CES is the single biggest tech trade show in the US. This year, 140,000 people jammed the hotels, convention centers, and taxis of Las Vegas to check out the coolest products in the consumer electronics world. Well, most of them at least.
Apple is conspicuously absent from CES, due to its close proximity to the Macworld expo. This simple fact has had a huge impact in recent years as it has turned what was once a niche trade show into a must-see event for the biggest media outlets in the world.
At no point was this more evident than last year. While 112,000 were at CES looking hungrily for the next big thing, Steve Jobs dropped the news cycle bomb that was the iPhone. Suddenly, the crowds in Vegas were sent scrambling to phones, computers, and TV screens to figure out just what the hell had happened. Suddenly, the Las Vegas Convention Center wasn't the center of the tech world, despite nearly every company of relevance being there to show off their latest and greatest.
Expect the same thing to happen this year. Both Microsoft and Intel failed to blow anyone away, filling their keynotes with cheesy demos and celebrity cameos rather than any sort of earth shattering announcement. In fact, the star of the show thus far seems to be the Asus EeePC. Members of the trade press have had to compete with the likes of CBS to get camera time with the little notebook.
If Apple does announce its own ultra-mobile notebook on Monday, and if half the rumors about it are true, even the EeePC could be forgotten by the masses.
Perhaps in January the media should start paying less attention to the convention center in Vegas and more attention to the one in San Francisco.
New filings point to dockable laptop
If a newly-surfaced set of patent filings is any indication, 2008 could see the dawning of yet another industry-shaking offering from Apple.
Multiple sources have reported that a recent set of US patent office filings from Apple describe a desktop device that will act as a dock for a new laptop. The device would serve not only as a power-source, but also as a full desktop adapter for the sub-notebook.
The patent outlines a dock that is essentially a hollowed-out iMac. The notebook would dock with the device by sliding into the side. The exposed connection and optical disc ports on the side of the notebook would serve as the input ports and connect to the dock's LCD screen, essentially converting the sub-notebook into a desktop computer.
Sweet.
Get your Mac tab
Had it not been for a little thing called the iPhone, Axiotron's ModBook might have stolen the show at last year's MacWorld Expo. As it is, the tablet had to settle for a best in show award followed by a long period of obscurity as Apple dominated the headlines for the rest of the year.
Now, one year after it first shined on the Macworld showfloor, the ModBook is available to the public.
The tablet is a modified MacBook Pro outfitted with a touchscreen that sports 512 levels of sensitivity. Other features include a custom stylus and GPS.
Gettting your mitts on a Mac tablet won't be cheap. The low-end model will run you $2,280 and the high-end 2.2ghz model costs $2,480. This high price point could be even more painful if Apple unveils a tablet of its own later this month at the 2008 Macworld expo.
