iOS5 is out!

 iPad, iPhone, Mac  No Responses »
Oct 132011
 

Apple’s latest and greatest, iOS 5, is out for download. You’ll be able to load it up on your iOS device and ogle in the wonder of unobtrusive notifications, Twitter integration and much more. But what should you expect, when, and how to get it? Allow us to explain.

What’s in iOS 5?

Loads and loads and loads – more than 200 new features in fact. The basic home screen layout hasn’t changed, but just about everything else has. We’ve written about all the new services in details before, but these are the ones that have impressed us the most:

Notification Centre – No more annoying pop-ups that interrupt whatever you’re playing. Instead, alerts from all your apps appear in this drop down tray at the top of the screen – and the lock screen as well, where sliding an alert immediately launches the relevant app. Nothing groundbreaking here, but very, very polished.

iMessage – Chat with other iOS users seamlessly. Your conversations are tied to your account and so carried across devices. Given BlackBerry’s recent woes, it could prove tempting indeed.

Camera – New image editing tools in Photos mean Apple is taken Instagram and Photoshop on at their own game, but really, we’re just happy to be able to use the volume control as the shutter button once again.

Cable free file transfer – You’ll need to use your charging cable once more to update, but after that, finito. Further software updates will be delivered incrementally and over the air, and Wi-Fi Sync means you can FINALLY update your playlists and media without having to look directly at the atrocity that is iTunes on a computer every time.

AirPlay mirroring – This one’s reserved for the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S only, but it’s a doozy: you can wirelessly transmit your device’s screen to a second-gen Apple TV. That gives you the potential for big screen gaming, easy video streaming, boring photo slideshows and more. Real Racing HD on the iPhone 4S will even allow for four player split screen this way, which looks astonishing. Where’s Mario Kart for iPhone when you need it?

There’s a whole host of other new features, including a new version of Safari that strips out ads and saves stuff for later, Twitter integration and even text expanding shortcuts.

iCloud

iCloud isn’t just for iOS 5 devices (it works with desktops too), but it’s a major feature of them nonetheless, not least because you may never even notice it’s there. It works by backing up all your data for all your apps, and shoving docs and photos into the ether automatically. 5GB of free storage might sound measly, but remember that app and media purchases on iTundes don’t count towards it: they’re all in the cloud anyway, so it just lets you download them again whenever you need.

Apple has been talking about “post-PC” devices for ages, but finally, it’s actually delivering them. Between wireless updates and its new cloud back up service, you no longer need to own a PC or Mac to use an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. For the first time, a tablet becomes a viable alternative to a laptop for many people, not just complementary.

What about Siri?

Alas, for now, the most exciting feature of iOS 5, the voice controlled personal assistant Siri, is an iPhone 4S exclusive. We doubt it’ll be heading back to many older devices ever, but one obvious candidate is the iPad 2, which uses many of the same innards, including the dual-core A5 processor – although Apple has kept mum on a possible appearance on its second gen slate. Want to talk your tablet? Don’t rule it out.

How do I get it?

You’ll need a cord one last time: plug your device into your computer and boot up iTunes when the update goes live, likely around 5-6pm this afternoon UK time. You’ll need to update iTunes to the latest version, 10.5, first though: it should prompt you to if you haven’t, but if not choose “Check for updates” on the settings.

What can I get it on?

iOS 5 will run on the iPhone 4S (duh), iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, iPad 2, iPod touch fourth generation and iPod touch third generation. Just watch out with the latter though: that’s only the 32GB and 64GB models, not the cheaper 8GB version, which is essentially the same as the second-gen model.

Won’t it be rubbish on the iPhone 3GS?

Apple generated a lot of ill will by releasing a sluggish, stripped down version of iOS 4 for the iPhone 3G last year, but 3GS users shouldn’t be worried about the same thing happening this time: beta users have been reporting that just about every crucial new feature in iOS 5 works just fine on the 2009 model, including the Notification Centre and Newstand. About the only things that don’t? Image editing and visible tabs in the Safari web browser. We can live with that.

 Posted by Aaron at 09:50  Tagged with:

How to install OSX Lion over GM

 Mac  No Responses »
Jul 202011
 

If you have a GM you will have seen this!

First a quick note: if you’re a developer who is running the Lion GM build 11A511 there is technically no need to install the Lion Final, both builds are 11A511 and identical. That said…

If you are running the Mac OS X Lion GM build and you want to buy and install the Final release of Lion through the Mac App Store, you’ve probably noticed that you’ll get an error message in the App Store. The solution? Simple, you just need to hold Option and click on the Install button to be able to install the final release over GM. You can also do this through the “Purchases” tab in the Mac App Store, just hold down Option to enable the “Install” button.

This is also a way for those who inappropriately downloaded Lion GM to ‘come clean’ and pay Apple for the final release. It’s only £20.99, and if you haven’t bought it yet, you really should.

Again, there isn’t much reason for developers to do this, but it’s a good tip anyway from The Loop.

Update: Some users are reporting sporadic issues with this, here is a clarification from our comments:


To clarify for everyone:

Hold option/alt when clicking the App Store icon.

Keep option/alt held down, and navigate to OS X Lion in the App Store.

Keeping alt/option held, you will see OS X Lion is now available for purchase, instead of being marked as ‘installed’.

Click it!

Basically, hold option during App Store launch and during each click through to “Purchases” and then to “Install”

 

 Posted by Aaron at 18:55  Tagged with:

OSX Lion is out!

 Apple, Mac  No Responses »
Jul 202011
 

OSX Lion in the App Store

The wait is over, Mac OS X Lion is live and available now on the Mac App Store, ready for everyone to download! The file weighs in at 3.49GB and speeds are so far very quick this morning.

Get OS X Lion from the Mac App Store Now – £20.99

General requirements

  • Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
  • 2GB of memory
  • OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
  • 7GB of available space
  • Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
  • Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

If you haven’t backed up already, do that too. Enjoy!

 Posted by Aaron at 00:21  Tagged with:

Apple Magic Trackpad

 Mac  No Responses »
Jun 292011
 
Magic Trackpad

Apples Magic Trackpad

Having used a Macbook pro for the last year and a half I have grown to love the way the trackpad works. Coming from a PC background I found it really hard not to use a mouse with a laptop. So I brought a Magic Mouse without any hesitation. The versatility of the swipes and gestures make the device a wonderful thing to use. But then after a while I started to find that I was using the trackpad, one because it was there, and two because it actually really works well with OSX. It wasn’t long before the magic mouse became somewhat obsolete and was collecting dust and begging for more double AA batteries, its only draw back!

I also own an iMac, and whenever I am working on that I was finding that I was looking for a trackpad that wasn’t there and was having to use my other Magic Mouse. I had grown accustomed to working different ways on each machine, and was fairly happy in doing so.

I then started to use the Developer Preview of OSX Lion; and its use of gestures is now even better and the poor little magic mouse doesn’t have the real-estate to perform all the lovely new features! Well it doesn’t at the time of writing; maybe the final release of Lion will change things? Anyway I should stop rambling and get on with a review.

Trackpad next to its box
One of the first things you notice is its size; its much bigger than a trackpad on a Macbook/Pro. This isn’t a bad thing, in fact its a great thing I sometimes find that performing a complex rotate, pinch and zoom on a laptops trackpad can be a bit unforgiving as you reach the edge and it all goes wrong! This is big enough to perform all the swipes and gestures without having to contort your hand into (even) stranger positions than you could imagine.

The device itself oozes typical Apple minimalist design. It’s a sheet of aluminium that sits on your desk at a slight angle waiting to be touched, and coated with a wear-resistant glass surface. The angle is created by the battery tube at the top, which takes two AA batteries. Apple claims this will be enough to power it for around 2 months. That tube houses the power switch and the gubbins to make it all work. Aside from a green light that only lights up when it is pairing, there is very little to report here.

While the top is metal the underside is white plastic – identical to the Apple Bluetooth keyboard. In fact design-wise it is identical in its approach. It’s the same brushed metal on top, the same angle, the same depth, the same height, in fact you can put the two together and pretend they are one piece.

Unlike most other computer peripherals, the surface is free from buttons. But you still get the ability to left or right click, thanks to the small feet on the leading edge of the underside. It’s an incredibly simple and clever idea that works just like the MacBook Pro’s system – you just click on the trackpad without realising there is no button.

The Magic Trackpad is connected to your Mac via Bluetooth, and the only other requirement here is that you are running OSX 10.6.4. Connect the device to your Mac and at first you’ll believe that you’ve bought a rather uninspiring and expensive trackpad that doesn’t do much.

Just perform a software update (if you haven’t already) and empower your Magic Trackpad to deliver on its promises. A quick restart later and you’re ready to tinker if you so wish, although for the most part you won’t have to.

The new software gives you the power to scroll, rotate, pinch, open and close, screen zoom, and secondary click when using two fingers.

Trackpad preference pane in action

Add a third finger and you can swipe to navigate and drag windows around, while four fingers up and down opens Expose and swiping left and right gives you the ability to change applications.

Don’t panic you can just use the one finger. The travel of your finger on the trackpad is more than enough to cover your screen within a single motion and that saves you having to keep lifting your finger.

There are other options with your single finger; i.e. tap to click (which can be turned off) and secondary click zoned into the bottom right corner, for example: we found a two finger click was easier, but there are choices so you can set it to your preference. You can adjust tracking, double-click and scrolling speed as well.

In practice, and it really is the same as the MacBook Pro trackpad, although we found it easier to use three and four finger movements due to the increased real-estate. The glass is beautifully smooth on your fingers and the click, which can be done from anywhere with very little effort, is responsive and you don’t really have to press that hard.

With the resting feet responsible for the clicking part of the trackpad you will have to have it on a level surface. I tried balancing it on a leg – it just doesn’t work – but you can use it up to 10 metres away.

Verdict

So desktop users should you ditch your mouse? The mouse might be ugly but it will allow you to whizz around the desktop quickly and it is what you are used to. This brings with it a host of new functions and we feel it is better than the company’s Magic Mouse offering.

At £59 you really want to make sure this is magical enough to replace your current mouse and we would have to say this comes down to how much you enjoy using a trackpad. For MacBook users wanting to bring that touch experience to their desktop Mac, or if dock your MacBook at your desk, then you probably don’t need convincing. For us, this gives you the chance to break the excellent touchpad experience out of your notebook and get it on your desk.

If you spend most of your time on the road, with a MacBook Pro in tow, you probably don’t need to lug around an extra trackpad and you won’t be able to use it fully without a surface to put it on.

For me this is a mouse replacement, but it’s worth heading down to your local Apple Store and trying it out for yourself.

Rating: ★★★★½

 Posted by Aaron at 23:38  Tagged with:
 Older Entries
© 2011 Aaron Thorne's Blog Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha