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12 great new settings in iOS 7
In all major operating system updates, there are usually quite a number of unsung improvements that don't get press attention. These are usually hidden deep in the Settings app, where it takes a while for bloggers to find the new features -- usually by accident. Dave Hamilton over at The Mac Observer has thoughtfully provided a list of a dozen new settings in iOS 7, and you're sure to find at least some of them to be quite useful. Here are a few to ponder: Dynamic Wallpaper -- finally there's a way to get an animated background on your home and / or lock screen. Visit Settings > Wallpapers & Brightness, select Choose Wallpaper, and you're greeted with a choice of "Dynamic" wallpapers or "Stills." Those dynamic wallpapers are all variations on the same thing -- floating, glowing "bubbles" that brighten and fade as they move around -- but they're attractive and hopefully point to a future where developers can create beautiful, moving wallpapers. Background App Refresh -- Hamilton notes that this feature allows "apps to work together with the OS on coalescing their updates. This is a great thing and should vastly improve network efficiency as well as battery life." If there are apps that go out to grab data way too often, you can disable them on an app-by-app basis. This is done in Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Burst Mode for Photos -- Did you think that Burst Mode was only available on the new iPhone 5s? For some reason, I did. But, as Hamilton points out, it's actually possible to use the feature on any device running iOS 7. Just hold down the shutter button when taking photos, and you can fill up a lot of your iPhone's storage with multiple copies of the same image. There's a lot more where those hints came from, so I suggest you point your browser to The Mac Observer for more settings tips.
Parallels 8 and VMware Fusion 5 go head-to-head in benchmark testing
Over the past two weeks, both VMware and Parallels released new versions of their flagship virtualization software for the Mac. First on the scene was VMware Fusion 5 (US$49.99 - $99.99), and last week Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac ($79.99) arrived. Both offer faster performance, compatibility with Mountain Lion and Windows 8, and new features for ease of use. Now MacObserver's Jim Tanous has done a side-by-side comparison of the two virtual machine apps, complete with detailed benchmarks of their performance in a variety of conditions. Tanous' detailed analysis shows that at least for the current incarnations of these two virtualization applications, Parallels Desktop 8 has the edge in terms of performance. He did see some anomalous results when running benchmarks on Windows 8 under Parallels Desktop 8, and chalked up the "too good to be true" performance figures to the way that Windows 8 is virtualized in Parallels 8. There are a plethora of charts to illustrate the results, and I suggest that you look at them over at MacObserver. Tanous brings up a final point that "Consumers may not be happy with the yearly paid update cycles, but the fierce competition between Parallels and Fusion has led the market to a mature and capable state and consumers of both products will likely be satisfied with their performance."
TUAW TV Live: TUAW and TMO tag team
It's time for TUAW TV Live, so grab some popcorn and a beverage, sign into the chat room, and get ready for some fun. Today my special guest is John Martellaro from The Mac Observer. As I mentioned earlier today, John is the Senior Editor at TMO and has been around the Apple universe for many years. He's one of the many Mac bloggers who call the Denver area home, so we meet up on occasion in the real world to talk computers and other topics. How do you join on the fun? From your Mac or PC, just go to the next page by clicking the read more link at the bottom of this post, and you'll find a livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to join in on the fun by asking questions or making comments. If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application. iPad users haven't been forgotten, either, as you can tune in to TUAW TV Live on your iPad! That link will send you to a non-Flash page, although you won't have access to our chat tool. And one final note -- if the show has started and you're seeing a previously recorded show instead of the livestream, you can always pop on over to ustream.tv/tuaw to join the show in progress.
Today on TUAW TV Live: The Mac Observer's John Martellaro
Would you believe it's Wednesday already? Today at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT), I'll have a special guest on TUAW TV Live. John Martellaro is the Senior Editor at The Mac Observer, and his background in the world of Apple includes a stint at the company as a Senior Marketing Manager for science and technology, a Federal Account executive, and High Performance Computing Manager. He writes the weekly "Particle Debris" feature at TMO, which is always full of insights into Apple in particular and consumer electronics in general. We have a lot to talk about on the show today, including Apple's first foray above $300 on Wall Street, if the debut of Windows Phone 7 means anything to the company, what the Apple TV means to the long-term success of Apple, and more. Join us this afternoon for live video and chat. We'll get started just before 5 PM EDT here at TUAW.com. If you miss the show, be sure to check it out in our video archives at http://ustream.tv/tuaw.
The extra safe, extra cautious iOS 4.1 upgrade guide
In case you missed it, the highly anticipated iOS 4.1 software update was released yesterday. If you've already upgraded, or after reading that sentence you're not already downloading it now, then you obviously like to play it cool and safe. Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Good for you! Either that, or you got seriously burnt last time. Well, when you're good and ready, Mac Observer has just the guide for you. It's so extensive, it practically holds your hand when taking your first steps to the land of iOS 4.1. From considering whether you should upgrade or not, to making sure your 'must have' apps are compatible and backed up for the new update, the walk through will guide you every step of the way, without making you run before you can walk! Seriously though, if you can't afford any mishaps, it's well worth the read. The walk through will even guide you on resetting your iTunes warnings so that the ones you nonchalantly clicked through last time will trigger again. Just make sure you read them this time, OK? Have you upgraded your iOS device to software version 4.1? Have you hit any snags along the way? Let us know how you're doing in the comments.
Macworld 2010: TMO's Dave Hamilton and IDG's Paul Kent
Along with meeting readers and having a place to stash our laptops, one of the other novel pleasures of having a booth on the show floor this year was the serendipity of having our friends and colleagues in the Mac community walk on by -- just so that we could pounce upon them and interview them on video. Case in point: late on Saturday afternoon, we enlisted Dave Hamilton of The Mac Observer, Backbeat Media & the Mac Geek Gab for a quick chat, only to be unexpectedly joined by his bandmate-slash-Macworld Expo general manager, Paul Kent. Dave & Paul each shared their impressions of the show, the expectations of vendors and attendees for next year, and the secret of putting together a great cover band when you only get one rehearsal before each gig. It's fair to say that the outlook for Macworld 2011, from their perspective, is much brighter now than it was in the leadup to this year's show. Thanks to both Dave and Paul for joining us for the final livestreaming session of the week. Although this is the last interview we recorded on Saturday, it's far from the last one you'll be seeing here on TUAW; we have a shelf-ful of great conversations that will be posted to the site over the next few days. Dave Hamilton interview: Paul Kent interview:
Apple, Psystar strike a deal
CNET and The Mac Observer noted a legal filing on Friday that suggested Apple and Psystar were looking to bypass the normal lawsuit process and enter a phase of private arbitration and mediation. The filing notes that Apple and Psystar will participate in the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process, a way to keep legal costs down -- and the outcome private. For famously secretive Apple, this agreement seems right up their alley. The agreement means the two companies will enter non-binding arbitration, present their case to a neutral party, and work out a deal through mediation. This all probably comes down to one thing: cash money. Psystar has nowhere near the cash reserves that Apple has, so this less-expensive option is attractive to them. It's attractive to Apple because if they lose, the decision is kept under wraps. As CNET's Tom Krazit notes, if Apple is guilty of Psystar's antitrust accusations, it could hurt their other cases where they're accused of the same thing. Of course, we'll know for certain the outcome simply by seeing if Psystar continues to sell their computers (or not) after January 31, when the ADR sessions wrap up. [Via AppleInsider.] Update: According to Psystar's attorneys, Apple and Psystar were ordered into the mediation by the court. According to several of our commenters, ADR is a common practice. Soulbarn says: "It is practically mandatory. It would be a surprise if it didn't happen, no matter who the case involved, big or small, famous or not famous, precedent-setting or non-precedent setting. It is part of the normal legal process." Thanks, everyone!
Apple won't be delisted from the NASDAQ
There was a chance that Apple would be delisted from the NASDAQ, which is never good for a company's stock. The issue stemmed from the investigation of options irregularities which forced Apple to restate earnings. This, in turn, delayed the filing of some paperwork, a 10Q form to be exact, therefore leading to possible delisting.Luckily, the NASDAQ stated that they will not delist Apple as long as the company files their 10Q within 2 months. Peter Oppenheimer, Apple CFO, says that if Apple is unable to meet that deadline they will file for an extension.[via the Mac Observer]
Kids still like iPods
Gene Munster, an analyst for Piper Jaffray, has just completed a survey of teens focused on MP3 players. His findings aren't too shocking: the kids like iPods. 79% of those who own an MP3 player have an iPod of some kind while 76% who are planning to buy an MP3 player in the next 12 months will be buying an iPod.Seems like the iPod is still hip and with it, much like this humble blogger. Cool, daddio.[via Infinite Loop]
