Appletell

Attention everyone who is excited about the new Finder in Snow Leopard; it isn’t new, it will look pretty much the same, and you really won’t notice a difference. John Gruber put it best on Daring Fireball:

Cocoa is just an API. It is not some sort of magic technology where you just sprinkle a ton of square brackets in your source code and you instantly get a better UI.

What should you be expecting from Apple’s Cocoa-wrapped Finder and their push for developers to go Cocoa? No new looks, but, first and foremost, greater consistency. Currently, Mac OS X’s use of Carbon and Cocoa APIs mean that though apps may look like they are using the same interface elements, Carbon apps and Cocoa apps may not be sharing the same resources for scrollbars, indicators, buttons, and other system-standard elements. Try this: Open up a Finder window and a Safari windows side by side and make sure they both have scrollbars. Now click on the desktop to make both windows inactive. Check out the scrollbar arrows! You’ll see that in Safari, a Cocoa app, the scrollbars have dimmed, and in Finder, a Carbon app, they have not.

While this is just a small overlooked issue in Leopard, it illustrates that these two APIs have separate rules that must require separate upkeep to make them look identical. With Apple wrapping all its user apps in Cocoa and pushing all developers to do the same, it will be a lot easier for applications to incorporate system standard UI elements and features and have them tie in with all other apps on the platform. Part of what is great about the Mac is that most applications work the same. “Command +“ always opens Preferences, there is always a help menu, and the program menu, by and large, conrtains the same stuff. With Cocoa all across the board, this consistecy can make the Mac even easier than it is now.

• iGoogle users furious over design changes
• The Onion compares Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Windows 7
• More storage for the Eee PC

I was awoken this morning by a text message from o2, which read, “iPhone 3G is here. The iPhone you have been waiting to early upgrade to. Order from 8am today.“

Yup! If you’re an o2 customer/wannabe customer, you can now pre-order the iPhone 3G at o2’s website! o2 say that pre-orders are on a first-come, first-served basis, and if you order sooner, there’s a bigger chance it will arrive on July the 11th via courier!

If you’re going through the upgrade route, you will need to visit the o2 iPhone upgrade page where you will be asked to type in your iPhone mobile number. You will then receive a text message with an upgrade code, which you must then enter before the upgrade process can continue.

The website is acting extremely erratically (at time of writing), whether this is due to traffic or o2 not getting their web page up in time is unknown. The upgrade site currently throws me between being able to order the phone and a maintenance page (8 a.m., ey’ o2?).

No word on how new customers are getting on, but I have a feeling they might not be having as much trouble. I haven’t as yet been able to pre-order my 3G iPhone. Come on o2, fix your website!

Happy iPhone 3G pre-ordering UK o2 customers.

• Yahoo finally getting their act together
• Apple launches new iPhone Your Life site
• Google’s “Lively” is gonna be dead

Orchard Spy has released a few screenshots of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and while they look the same as Leopard, (Leopard looked like Tiger once, too) they do tell us some preliminary things about the new OS, and we’ll tell you after the break.

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Yesterday, AT&T announced that it plans to release its High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) in six more US markets by the end of June, completing its deployment of HSPA. Once that task is completed, the company says that the 3G service will offer uplink speeds of between 500 and 800Kbps, which will complement the roughly 1.4Mbps downlink that AT&T already offers. The timing of AT&T’s upgrade doesn’t seem to be a coincidence, since Apple’s rumored 3G iPhone is expected to launch in early June.

AT&T’s numbers are most likely based on controlled testing, so real speeds may be a bit lower than estimated, depending on your location. Users of AT&T’s pre-HSUPA 3G network have experienced uplink speeds of around 200 to 300Kbps, so even an upgrade to AT&T’s lowest estimate (500Kbps) will be a welcome upgrade.

The upgrade is part of AT&T’s $20 billion effort to improve its network, which it began back in 2005. The company said that the speedier 3G network is already available in over 275 markets, and that it will be available to customers in another 75 or so markets by the end of 2008. AT&T will be the only US carrier to have fully deployed HSUPA on its 3G network, making it the largest of its kind in the United States.

Via [IntoMobile]

• Apple launches new iPhone Your Life site
• AT&T branded Nokia E71 spotted in-the-wild
• Apple rated #1 in customer satisfaction in recent survey

The Mac Mini is Apple’s cheapest computer, and smallest desktop computer - great for those who don’t need much processing or graphics power. But recently there have been several rumors of its death nearby, brining a new mid-range Mac to replace it. According to AppleInsider, the Mac Mini is not dead yet - and may receive an upgrade soon. They speculate that these are the new specs the Mac Mini will get:

• 45-nanometer Core 2 Duo mobile chips starting at 2.1Ghz
• 800MHz front-side bus
• Stepped-up Intel graphics processor (most likely GMA X3100)

There have been so many Mac Mini rumors recently that I can’t decide whether this one will happen. AppleInsider has a relatively good track record, and I also think that the Mac Mini isn’t going yet. I think we’ll see an upgrade like this in the upcoming months, but probably not a major re-design.

Via [TUAW]

• Rumor: Palm Treo Pro coming to Sprint this January
• What is the future for the Mac Mini?
• AT&T branded Nokia E71 spotted in-the-wild

As you may or may not know, MacHeist customers have been having problems with an app included in the recently sold bundle, Speed Download 4. The app was included in the MacHeist II bundle, however Speed Download 5 was released very soon after the bundle sale. Yazsoft, the creators of Speed Download, gave Speed Download 5 to MacHeist users for a price even though non MacHeist purchases were eligible for free upgrades. After much arguing, both MacHeist and Yazsoft have reached an agreement. Yazsoft is now offering free Speed Download 5 upgrades to all MacHeist Speed Download 4 purchases. However, they’re only running this for a limited time until March 27th, so go on over to the upgrade page to enter your details. If you’re looking for two keys and a free upgrade to Speed Download 6, Yazsoft is offering that as well for $15.

[Speed Download Upgrade] Via [TUAW]

• Microsoft unveils online store for the United States
• New toolbar warns users of unreliable E-tailers.
• More storage for the Eee PC

Corsair is well-known for its high-performance memory for PCs. It has just released an exclusive new model of RAM, designed for the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Corsair claims that this memory can make your MacBook or MacBook Pro up to 28% faster - because it uses a special SPD (serial presence detect) that enables Macs to self-configure for better performance.  The memory has been tested in programs such as XBench, Photoshop and VMware Fusion - all of which are ram-hungry applications.

It surprised me that the RAM is only clocked at 667MHz, but I guess that’s the highest MacBooks and MacBook Pros can take. It’s currently only available in one version: 4GB. You can purchase it from Corsair’s website.

Via [MacNN]

• New MacBooks and MacBook Pros require HDCP for some iTunes videos
• Apple releases update for unrecognized clicks on the new MacBook and MacBook Pro
• More storage for the Eee PC

As always, early adopters will find issues that Apple needs to fix - especially with new hardware. The 2008 Mac Pros were an unexpected release, as they came before the Macworld keynote. The new Mac Pros didn’t have a new casing - in fact, they look exactly the same as 2007 Mac Pros from the outside. The difference is on the inside: All the models are 8-core, and new upgrades were introduced. Everyone was pleased to see higher-end video cards like the NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT. This was a necessary move by Apple, and is the only way they are going to be able to push gaming on their platform.

The entry level card of the new Mac Pro is the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT, the same card that higher model iMacs use. A MacUser reader states: “I called Apple and they claimed to have no reports on this, even though people already have had their machines replaced over this. This is also affecting me with a brand new 2.8 model. Users are also widely reporting problems with waking from sleep mode.“ On the Apple support forums, people are complaining about this issue too. Hopefully Apple will come out with a fix for this soon. Let us know if you have a 2008 Mac Pro and are experiencing these problems by commenting.

Via [MacUser]

• Stop freaking out about Cocoa Finder and apps in Snow Leopard
• Claustrophobic computer parts rejoice! The Antec Skeleton is coming
• More storage for the Eee PC

I replaced the RAM in my MacBook after reading about it. It’s true that Apple really do overcharge for RAM upgrades, whether it’s a build-to-order computer from the online store, or an existing computer. Buying RAM from a place like Crucial is quick, easy and cheap - and apparently Micron Technology (the parent company of Crucial) supply the RAM for Apple anyway. Upgrading the hard drive in the MacBook is pretty much the same as RAM, you just open up the battery, remove a few screws and replace the drive in the slot; although you will have to re-install Mac OS X.

MacBook Pro owner Max Millon replaced his hard drive in around 40 minutes. He used the instructions at ifixit to place a massive 320GB drive into his MacBook Pro. After watching this time-lapse video, you will understand how to go through this process yourself. It’s definitely a lot harder to do than in a MacBook. I hope the next MacBook Pro will adopt the new system that the MacBook uses; because it takes less than half the time of this. Watch the video after the jump.

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If you purchased a lower end MacBook or MacBook Pro, it most likely has a 4x or 6x drive, and can only write single-layer DVDs. MCE technologies is offering an upgrade optical drive for both MacBooks and MacBook Pros, allowing existing users to get 8x speeds with dual-layer capacity. It supports DVD+R DL (Double Layer) and DVD-R (Dual Layer) media, so it can burn up to 8.5GB per disc - although, dual-layer discs are pricey. MCE’s drive matches the exact form factor of current MacBooks/MacBook Pros; 9.5mm high. Note that this drive will only support the 15-inch model MacBook Pro, as the 17-inch uses a different size drive.

Of course, the drive works as Apple’s standard SuperDrives would - natively with OS X Tiger and Leopard - with compatibility for iTunes, iDVD, Finder, iPhoto, DVD Player e.t.c. It includes the necessary installation tools and a manual.

Via [Macworld]

• New MacBooks and MacBook Pros require HDCP for some iTunes videos
• Apple releases update for unrecognized clicks on the new MacBook and MacBook Pro
• More storage for the Eee PC