Appletell

Apple has posted a job position for a senior engineer to “work in a technology group on next generation wireless communications products.” The job position, initially discovered by AppleInsider, asks applicants to have knowledge in “Bluetooth, 3G, ultrawideband (UWB), WiMAX, GPS, Mobile TV and similar wireless technologies.” This indicates that Apple is definitely planning on including 4G wireless technologies in their products, some time in the future. Whether this is for the iPhone, iPod Touch, or MacBook range — I want to see it in any of these products.

Scott Moritz of Fortune/CNN’s Techland blog suggests that Apple’s wishlist for 4G skills stands out: “The presence of WiMax and the absence of long term evolution, or LTE,” He also questions that this could be an “endorsement of the Sprint/Clearwire/Intel WiMax camp and a rejection of the fourth-generation LTE path wireless embraced by telco giants AT&T and Verizon?”

It will be interesting to see what exactly Apple produces from hiring a specialist in the 4G area — that is, if they do produce anything at all. I suspect that GPS is definitely going to come into the next iPhone; WiMax could see its way to the MacBook Air; and Ultra-Wideband could be implemented as USB is in Macs today.

Via [MacDailyNews], [Techland]

According to the latest iPhone firmware release, Apple is currently working on an iTunes controller for your iPhone called, you guessed it, iControl.  This application would allow you to wirelessly browse your iTunes library from a local source and stream your music and other content.  This information came from a group of strings in the latest beta release of the new iPhone software and could be one of the apps Apple will be releasing themselves when the SDK comes out.  If you’ll remember, back in July, Apple applied for a patent for this sort of thing.  That patent stated:

A portable multimedia player (such as the iPod. manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.) is used to wirelessly access and control a media server (such as a personal computer running iTunes software) that is streaming digital media by way of a wireless interface to a media unit (such as a stereo/speakers in the case of streaming digital audio).

This all sounds pretty cool to me and would be another great addition to the phone.  However, it leaves me wondering whether or not, like above, other iPods will get the same functionality.  It may be kind of hard at this point considering all iPods (besides the Touch) have yet to receive some sort of wifi connectivity.  Could this be a sneak peak of things to come?

Via [TUAW]

Though most seem to be happy with Mac OS X 10.5.2, a select few, Steve Jobs apparently included, aren’t. Mac OS X 10.5.3 is on the fast track to release, as yet another developer build was seeded over the weekend.

While 10.5.2 had widely publicized bugs it was fixing, 10.5.3 has but one: WiFi issues, most recently exemplified when New York schools halted Mac shipments due to the issue. Two other issues it is known to have fixed are shutdown hangs and system mode issues. The others are anybody guess. Or anybody’s guesses, as the list of bugs fixed by this update is apparently longer than 170. This specific build, 9D22, fixes 15, and has no known issues.

Update: After this writing was finished, Apple released Build 9D23, adding 8 more fixes. Once again, no known issues.

Given the rapid succession of build releases, the consensus is that 10.5.3 will be available by mid-May. Perhaps this will give way for 10.5.4 in June?

Have you had any 10.5.2 issues? Or would you just like them to leave well enough alone? Sound off below.

Via [World Of Apple]

La Repubblica, a well known Italian publication, is reporting, in Italian of course, that there will soon be a 3G iPhone in Italy.  However, this would be no normal release.  Supposedly there will be no carrier lock or two month agreement on the device whatsoever, it will just be sold at a higher retail price to begin with.  Telecom Italia Mobile will have the rights to sell the phone exclusively for the first few months, but customers will not have to use TIM as their carrier although it is estimated that 50% of Italian wireless customers use TIM anyways.

If this is the case, this would be a landmark deal for TIM.  Apple has been known to get whatever they want when it comes to deals about the iPhone.  If this rumor is true, Apple may have realized that in order for the phone to truly reach its potential, they need to make it more open.  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds as a 3G iPhone wasn’t expected to be even announced until WWDC in June.

The New York Department of Education has halted an order on Macs due to a wireless connectivity issue with their infrastructure.  Apple has been hard at work trying to resolve this issue and a fix is expected to come with a new Leopard release, most likely 10.5.3.  For now the machines are being held at a Dell facility in Austin, Texas because of a contract the DOE has with Dell that allows them to handle all of the school system’s tech ordering.  The schools are still able to order and receive machines that rely on a wired ethernet connection rather than wifi.

Apple has apologized in both an email and an Apple product catalog notice for the two month delay.  The company has been franticly working on this issue in hopes of getting the machines shipped as soon as possible.  Hopefully Apple gets 10.5.3 out soon because I have been experiencing wifi issues with my iMac as well and would love to see this problem resolved for everyone.

Via [AppleInsider]

After a recent Firmware Update causing Time Machine preferences to see Hard Disks attached to Airport Extreme Base Stations, many AEBS owners were ecstatic over the Time Capsule-like ability to do wireless backups. But as I personally found out when the Disk refused to mount on the fifth backup, this solution is not fully baked and Apple recently announced that it is not supported at all.

With the announcement of Leopard, Apple said that backing up to AirDisks was supported. Then they pulled the feature, leaving those who had bought External Drives solely for this purpose in the lurch. Then they introduced Time Capsule, severely hindering hope of having the AirDisk feature replaced. This increased the anger, many feeling that Apple was trying to make a fast dollar off of them by forcing them to buy the new product. When Apple released the Update allowing Time Machine to see AirDisks, many thought Apple had listened to it’s customers. As backups start failing all over the place though, anger will grow.

A word to Apple: you need to get this fixed. It is already overdue, and you have many seething customers over this issue. While it may result in some loss in Time Capsule sales, those who want a seamless integrated backup will still buy Time Capsule, and you will retain your current Airport Extreme customers. You’re working on borrowed time here.

Sound off in the comments below if you are one of these customers, or you have had your backups fail.

During todays Macworld keynote Steve Jobs announced a new device from Apple and its name is Time Capsule. The device is basically Apple’s airport extreme wireless router with the addition of a ‘server grade’ hard drive. It supports wireless time machine backups over the network.

It’s available in 2 sizes, 500GB for $299, and 1TB for $499. No date given for release, more info to come.

Sporting a light version of Apple’s Myriad Pro font, the Macworld 2008 posters are mysterious as always, proclaiming that “there’s something in the air.”

A logical guess would be that there will be wireless advancements, including movie rentals from iTunes streamed wirelessly. Then again, it could have nothing to do with wireless at all. These posters are sure to fuel speculation and guesses all over the internet for the remaining 3 days until MacWorld.

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Could Apple be rolling out some wireless services for its mobile devices? According to Business Week, Steve Jobs is supposed to be examining the implications of auctioning for the 700MHz wireless spectrum in the U.S. This frequency was previously used by analog TV broadcasters, who have returned the rights to the U.S. government as they move towards digital TV.

Business Week also says that this spectrum can deliver data at a much higher rate than mobile or 802.11x networks. Apple currently has about $14 billion sitting in the bank, so the company will easily afford the minimum bid, at $4.6 billion. I honestly believe that Apple is frustrated with AT&T, so this move could very well free them from any mobile carriers, at least within the U.S.

Via [Business Week]

Boingo has announced that they will be offering Apple iPhone users free Wi-Fi access at 13 airports during the month of August. The free service will be offered when users access the network with their iPhone, they will also be given the option to sign up for a Boingo account if they like the service. Boingo currently offers paid users to a network of 100,000+ hotspots.

“iPhone users are searching for Wi-Fi options that will keep the device’s coolest features and content functioning at lightning speeds when on-the-go,” said Dawn Callahan, Boingo’s vice president of consumer marketing, in the press release. “With our extensive hot spot coverage, choosing Boingo is a no-brainer for iPhone users who are looking for public access options beyond EDGE. This free promotion is a great opportunity for iPhone users to see for themselves.”

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