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How to inspect iOS's HTTP traffic without spending a dime
image credit: Matrix Rain by docmiller on deviant art, CC BY-SA 3.0 I recently had a problem. I was seeing intermittent issues with an iPhone app, Tapatalk, not working properly with a web forum hosted by a friend of mine. I knew there was a much better chance of getting the bug fixed if I could a) prove it was a bug and b) show the devs exactly where the problem was, but I was hampered by the usual problem: iOS apps are a bit of a black box, and I couldn't see what it was doing internally. However, like almost all network-aware iOS apps, this one was clearly using a web service to get data from the backend. So, all I needed to do was figure out a way to see the traffic on the web service. This is the sort of thing I used to do all the time when my day job was writing load testing scripts for big ecommerce sites, but the first time I'd had to do it on the Mac or from an iOS client. I managed to get it working after doing a little research. If you find yourself in need of a similar solution -- perhaps for iOS app development, reporting a bug or some other reason (or just plain hacker interest!) -- then click through for step-by-step instructions on how to intercept and view your iOS web traffic from any Mac running on the same network.
Apple prepping updates for all Mac lines by June?
We're not holding our breath on this one. MacScoop is promising some sweeping changes to Apple's Mac lineup, including a black iMac, 8-core Mac Pro, ultraportable MacBook Pro and a 15-inch MacBook. MacScoop even conjectures the aging Cinema Displays could be due for a refresh, and seems to think a Mac OS X Leopard release in late March is in the cards. It all sounds plenty reasonable, there are a lot of products in Apple's flock that are getting a bit stale, but we're rather doubtful there are any sort of "tipsters well placed at Apple," spilling this info to the MacScoop folks. After all, the last time we spotted MacScoop making hardware predictions, their "sources believed to be very reliable" totally missed on that ultraportable 12-inch MBP prediction for Macworld Expo 2007.
