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Printopia updated with customised settings and security
I've been a big fan of Printopia since it first came out. It allows you to print from an iOS device to any printer on a wireless network or directly connected to a Mac. After Apple's half-hearted AirPrint feature was launched, people were pretty upset to learn that it worked on only a handful of HP printers. Printopia fixed that with an app that sits in your system preference window, and gets you printing to just about any printer you have. The app requires a Wi-Fi network for connectivity. The new version adds password security, unlimited virtual printers, and some new customization options giving users full access to printer settings, like page size, paper tray and color settings. It retains the print to Mac function which sends a JPEG or PDF to your Mac, and also allows you to send JPEG and PDFs to Dropbox or Evernote. I've used the original version since it came out and it has been flawless. Current owners can get the update for free by clicking on Printopia in System Preferences, new users will pay US$19.95 and anyone can try a 7 day free trial.
TruPrint brings proper printer support to iOS if you brought the jailbreak (video)
AirPrint is great in theory, but in practice your chances of finding a supported printer in the copier room are roughly equivalent to spotting a yellow-eared parrot in the wild. TruPrint boosts those chances dramatically, adding iOS support for "most" printers that are shared on the network. Unfortunately no actual listing of supported models has been provided, but there's a three day free trial if installed over Cydia so you can try it for yourself -- yes, you'll need to jailbreak first. After that it's $9.99, which is a bit steep, but if it saves you having to wait in just one line at the airport terminal to print a boarding pass it's well, well worth it.
EFI adds AirPrint to corporate copiers and printers
AirPrint is wonderful for those of us who can use it to print to home printers, but until now, the technology has been useless for most corporate copier / printers. That's all set to change now that EFI is providing support for AirPrint to its signature Fiery print servers. The PrintMe Connect software enables direct wireless printing from any iOS 4.2 mobile device. The software is free to download, and it works for printing to any Fiery-driven printer. According to EFI, "It is a software application that runs as a proxy on a Windows system to enable AirPrint printing for Fiery-driven printers with System 8/8e or later software version." AppleInsider notes that PrintMe Connect expands AirPrint to work with large format, high end and multifunction printers in the enterprise, and that there are more than 250,000 printers in corporate offices that will benefit from this free update. Up to this point, only HP has announced printers that are officially supported by AirPrint, so it's exciting to see that the iOS printing standard is now making it to the big leagues with EFI. Do you work in an office where your print jobs are routed through a Fiery print server? Let us know if your corporation allows you to use PrintMe Connect for printing from your iOS device. [via AppleInsider]
TUAW Macworld meetup with HP tonight!
We're going to have a meetup tonight at Jillian's Billiards Club (101 4th St # 170 in San Francisco, right across the corner from Moscone West in the Metreon). Thanks to our friends at HP, who will be our gracious co-hosts, we'll have food and drink and demos of HP printers plus we'll be giving stuff away... including an HP printer! We look forward to seeing you there. The meetup starts at 7:45 PM Pacific and we'll end at 10 PM. Come meet the bloggers, see some AirPrint-capable printers (and try them out) and have some food!
AIRPrint performs ranged fingerprint scanning, won't let the terrorists win
While ears may be the new biometric du jour, Advanced Optical Systems (AOS) is doing its best to keep fingerprints as the preferred method for identifying enemies of the state. The company has built a fingerprint scanner with the ability to accurately read a print up to two meters away, and our military views the system as a means to reduce the risk to soldiers at security checkpoints all over the world. The AIRPrint system is a significant upgrade over previous biometric security systems because it allows a person's identity to be confirmed by military personnel from behind the safety of a blast wall or armored vehicle, which keeps our serviceman out of harm's way. AIRPrint uses a source of polarized light and two 1.3 megapixel cameras (one to receive vertically polarized light and another to receive horizontally polarized light) in order to produce an accurate fingerprint. The prototype is able to scan and verify a print in under five seconds, but the device can presently only process one finger at a time, and that finger must stay a fixed distance from the cameras to get a precise reading. Despite these current limitations, AOS claims that soon the equipment will be capable of reading five prints simultaneously while a person is moving toward or away from the device. The system will be ready for market in the third quarter of this year, which is bad news for terrorists and soccer hooligans, but a windfall for Big Brother.
Canon PIXMA MX882 hands-on: an all-in-one with superpowers
Printers don't often get us hot and bothered, but Canon's PIXMA MX882 certainly has us intrigued. The main draw is that Dual Function panel up front, which combines a 3-inch LCD with a unique set of hard keys that have dynamic displays below that change depending on what function you're trying to access. For example, when you go to send a fax, they turn into a keypad, and change to other related buttons if you want to copy or scan. On top of that, it's got support for the iOS and Android Canon photo printing apps, as well as built-in WiFi and Ethernet. To further sweeten the deal, it's got duplex scanning and printing capabilities, along with five individual color print cartridges so if you run of out of one color, you don't need to replace the whole thing. Oh, did we mention it costs less than $200? Yeah, we told you it was good. %Gallery-112909%
HP adds more printers to AirPrint-compatible list
With only a handful of HP printers being compatible with Apple's AirPrint -- after the disappointment of AirPrint's functionality being drastically scaled back in the final release of iOS 4.2 -- users have been left with two options if they want to print directly from their iOS 4.2 device. One, get your hacking gloves on and install the necessary files from the developer build of Mac OS X 10.6.5 (which were pulled from the final public release). use one of the free or paid utilities to enable shared printing from your iPad via your Mac or PC. Or two, get your hands on one of the compatible HP printers. Fortunately, option two is about to get a whole lot better, though it's still not ideal because you will have to buy a new printer if you don't already have one of these models -- the AirPrint capability is being added via a firmware update. HP is adding six printers to the AirPrint availability menu shortly. The printers are all of the Officejet variety, but at least now there's a choice of more AirPrint compatible printers. If you already have one of these models, you're in luck: reader Eldon Brown reports that he updated the firmware on his 6500A Plus and the AirPrint capability was added automatically. The newly AirPrint-savvy models are: HP Officejet 6500A e-All-in-One HP Officejet 6500A Plus e-All-in-One HP Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One (pictured) HP Officejet Pro 8500A e-All-in-One HP Officejet Pro 8500A Plus e-All-in-One HP Officejet Pro 8500A Premium e-All-in-One HP is also hosting firmware updates for several LaserJet and Photosmart models, which should enable AirPrint goodness: Photosmart e-AiO (D110) (USA/Canada) Photosmart Wireless e-AiO (B110) (EU, AP) LaserJet Pro M1536dnf Multifunction Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/M1536) LaserJet Pro CM1415fn Color Multifunction Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/CM1415) LaserJet Pro CM1415fnw Color Multifunction Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/CM1415) LaserJet Pro CP1525n Color Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/CP1525) LaserJet Pro CP1525nw Color Printer (www.hp.com/go/airprint/CP1525) Of course, there is a third option. You could always sit tight and wait for Apple to unleash the full power of AirPrint -- hopefully sometime next year. Post corrected to note that these are not new printers but are getting new firmware; also corrected reference to hacktivation process. GadgetVenue post referenced is incorrect.
HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One C310a Printer: Hands-on review
When Apple announced that printing from iOS devices would become a reality with the release of iOS 4.2 and AirPrint, a lot of us at TUAW were very excited. This would make iPads and iPhones even more useful. I kept thinking that the ability to tap on my iPhone screen and make a print of a photo would be very cool. Well, the reality of AirPrint is that printing without third-party software running on your Mac or PC is only available on 11 HP printers that are referred to as supporting ePrint. This is a zero configuration, wireless-enabled network printing protocol that allows printing from any smartphone or computer without installing drivers or software. I recently had an opportunity to do a hands-on review of an ePrint-enabled printer; the HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One C310 Printer (US$199.99, currently available with a $50 mail-in rebate). What I discovered is that HP's ePrint technology and iOS devices are made for each other; the printing capability from iPhones, iPod touches and iPads is seamless and speedy. For more on the capabilities of this printer, click the Read More link.
Apple takes down AirPrint Hacktivator, and now it's back as AirPrint Activator
Remember AirPrint Hacktivator? It's the little hack that makes it possible for AirPrint to work with any shared printer on a Mac. We've covered the free app several times on TUAW, most recently when version 1.7 came out. After we published that post, a TUAW reader pointed out that despite the fact that developer Netputing had touted "no Apple files are redistributed nor installed by the latest version," those files were indeed still in 1.7. TUAW contacted Netputing, and they immediately removed the files in version 1.7.1. Despite a busy lawsuit life, Apple's legal department apparently has nothing better to do, so they sent Netputing a nice little email via omm.com asking them to remove all of the pre-1.7.1 versions of the app. The site was down temporarily, but now it's back and 100% legal. Here's hoping that AirPrint Hacktivator is here to stay! Update: The Netputing team has renamed the app to AirPrint Activator, reflecting the 'clean' implementation sans Apple-proprietary files. [via MacStories]
New 'iPad Is Amazing' ad touts iOS 4.2 features
Apple's latest iPad commercial, "iPad Is Amazing", is touting iOS 4.2's new features including AirPrint, AirPlay, multitasking, and folders. Aimed at corralling holiday technology shoppers, this new ad definitely offers up something for everyone in the family. Just for the record, I will admit that bought an iPad when they were first announced. I will also admit that I returned it one week later, as I didn't feel that it did anything that my MacBook and iPhone couldn't already do at the time. Thinking back to that week I understand why I felt that way then, but with the new OS and all the apps available now I think I could find a use for an iPad in my house today. Click Read More to check out the new ad.
TUAW TV Live: AirPrint, AirPlay, RapidWeaver, and more
It's nearly 5 PM ET, which means it's time for TUAW TV Live. This is the weekly livestreaming video show where me and a group of Apple geeks get together to chat about the latest news from Cupertino and beyond. Today's show is all about what iOS 4.2 brought to the picture. I'll do some live demos of some of the features in action, and will have recorded video for other features that need an Apple TV to show off. I'll also be demoing RapidWeaver 5.0, which was released today. You can even enter to win a free license for RapidWeaver, valued at US$79. How can you join in on the fun? From your Mac or PC, 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 participate 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. We haven't neglected our iPad users, since 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.
TUAW TV Live: The post-iOS 4.2 show
A few weeks ago, in anticipation of iOS 4.2 making its way to our iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads, I hosted an hour-long episode of TUAW TV Live in which we journeyed together through some of the upcoming features of the OS upgrade. On today's show, we'll see how well some of the new features work in reality. I'll show you how AirPrint works from iPad and iPhone using Ecamm's Printopia software on the Mac, play with AirPlay, and discuss the pros and cons of iOS 4.2. With RapidWeaver 5.0 now available and a giveaway of ten licenses for the popular web design tool going on right now here on TUAW, I'll also be demonstrating the new version of the application and highlighting some of the features of RapidWeaver 5.0. With Apple seemingly ignoring iWeb during the release of iLife '11, RapidWeaver is looking like a contender for the title of best easy-to-use web design tool. Join us at 5 PM ET today here at TUAW. Just drop by a few minutes before the start of the show for instructions on how to view the livestream and participate in the chat. Remember that all TUAW TV Live shows are archived for your viewing pleasure on Ustream.
AirPrint Hacktivator enables AirPrint for any printer
You've updated your iPad and iPhone to iOS 4.2, and you want to print something, ... anything, but that printer hooked up to your Mac doesn't show up in the list of available devices. What can you do to make your iOS user experience complete? As Mike noted in his AirPrint roundup last week, Netputing took note of the re-enabling process that Chris posted about and created a little hack called AirPrint Hacktivator (which now uses a different method than it did originally, see below). You can easily install it on your Mac and be printing like a maniac from your iOS 4.2 device in minutes. It's a simple, non-Terminal way to fool your iPad or iPhone into thinking that your shared printer just happens to be one of those HP ePrint printers that work seamlessly with AirPrint.
AirPrint for less: Deals on HP printers for Cyber Monday
Given the options for getting AirPrint working with your existing gear, it's probably not necessary to run out and get a brand-new printer just to enable output from your iOS 4.2-enabled iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. If you actually need a new printer, however, it's worth considering whether one of HP's AirPrint-ready models is suited to your printing lifestyle. For Cyber Monday, HP is offering instant rebates on all the Photosmart inkjets that are qualified for AirPrint use. While HP's press materials indicate that all of the company's ePrint-capable printers will eventually work with AirPrint, only about 10 printers are ready for iPad printing out of the box or with currently shipping firmware (full list here). Of those, almost all of these are discounted for Cyber Monday, ranging from US$30 off the budget Photosmart D110a (for a total cost of $70) up to $50 off the C510a and $100 off the A910n. All models include free standard shipping for the sale event. Chances are, if you've got an educational or EPP (employee purchase program) discount, you'll be able to shave a few more dollars off these prices. Our colleague Laura Heller at WalletPop suggests checking price aggregator sites like Fatwallet.com or Dealnews to verify that you're getting the best deal, and make sure that your local office equipment chain (OfficeMax, Staples, etc.) won't beat the price.
Rumor: iBooks update to bring Collections, PDF emailing and printing
Update: So much for rumors. Readers have let us know about two German websites pointing to explicit discussion of iBooks collections in the iOS 4.2 documentation, of all places. We can expect to see collection support in the next version of the iBooks app, which can be updated independently of the main OS releases. Steve himself has hinted at improvements "coming" soon to iBooks, and 9to5Mac claims to have nabbed some internal Apple documents that lay out those improvements. The biggest feature is called "Collections," and it sounds like it works the same as Folders in the rest of iOS -- you can combine items in iBooks however you like, and the collections you've got in iBooks can be viewed right on your bookshelf in the main screen. Sounds handy, if not all that revolutionary. Second, PDF users will get some nice additions -- PDFs will be able to be shared via email as well as printed off with AirPrint directly from the iBooks app. That functionality won't work for actual book files, obviously, given that if you want to read one of those, you'll have to buy it. But if this document is legit, it should make things a little easier for people who want to share and print PDFs from iBooks itself. We don't know yet when these features will actually come to iBooks, but presumably we wouldn't need to wait until an iOS update -- Apple could update the iBooks app. We'll keep an eye out for that soon.
Hands on: iPad printing with 4.2 and AirPrint, a limited menu
If AirPlay's first-generation limitations have disappointed a lot of would-be iPhone video mavens who had dreamed of quickly sharing their clips to the big screen, you can just imagine how irate everyone is about AirPrint. The universal shared printer solution for iPhone and iPad was kneecapped in late builds of Mac OS X 10.6.5 for reasons yet to be revealed, and the result is that a big-ticket feature has shipped with very little real-world applicability -- at least, out of the box. Fortunately, if you're willing to do a little bit of finagling or lay out a small amount of cash, you can quickly gain back the AirPrint functionality you were promised, and more. Let's take a quick look at what's in the 'vanilla' version of AirPrint, then move on to the expanded remix edition.
iOS 4.2 available today, brings the iPad into the multitasking era (update: it's live)
You've waited a long while for this day to come, but here it finally is. Apple is today rolling out iOS 4.2 to iPads and qualifying iPhones (3G, 3GS and 4) and iPod touches (second, third and fourth generation) across the globe, delivering the long-awaited multitasking and app folder enhancements to a tablet that was already supposed to be magical and revolutionary. To see whether this new update -- replete with Game Center, AirPlay and AirPrint additions -- really helps the iPad step up to doubleplusgood territory, check out our full review; everyone else, hit up your nearest iTunes 10.1-equipped computer to get your update on. Update: Plug in your iPhones and iPads, the 624.3MB update is rolling out now. Looks like it's starting in Europe, given the joyous cackles from our editors across the pond. Screenshot after the break. Update 2: Now available within US borders as well.
iPhone dock/photo printer combo may be too much, too late
Contrary to some rumors, Apple users are pretty close to having the ability to print to anywhere via their iOS devices with Air Print. But if you happened to be in the market for an iPhone-specific printer dock today, you can stop looking. The Bolle BP-10, which can charge your iPhone (all versions) and print out 4X6" photos at the same time, uses the free Bolle Photo app to allow you to select photos from your albums and/or select individual pictures on your iPhone for printing. Users can also print multiple passport-style photos onto one sheet of A6 photo paper. While the idea of wired printing is soon to be obsolete for most computer owners, I can actually see the use for and appeal of a dedicated printer like this -- at a cheaper price point. Sometimes you just don't want to fight with your wireless network to print out a 4x6 picture for your Mom. But at around US$192 from MobileFun it's a bit steep for my taste, regardless of its usefulness. [via Gizmodo and Ubergizmo]
AirPrint on steroids: first look at Printopia, bringing shared printer support for iPad
When Apple removed AirPrint shared printer support from Mac OS X 10.6.5, it created a functionality gap that developers moved quickly to fill. Yesterday, TUAW took a first look at FingerPrint, an AirPrint solution that enables iDevice printing to many Mac OS X shared printers. Today, we have an exclusive first peek at Printopia, a competing product from long-established Mac developer Ecamm. Like FingerPrint, the $9.95 Printopia allows non-supported printers to work directly with Apple's new wireless AirPrint functionality; both products also allow PowerPC users on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to share printers for iPad use (a great way to get some utility out of that G4 Mac mini in the closet). But that's just where Printopia gets started. This easy-to-use system control panel expands AirPrint features to provide support for Dropbox file sharing and printing to Mac-based PDF files.
FingerPrint app for Mac enables AirPrint for the printers Apple left behind
Printing never "just works," does it? There always has to be some wrench thrown in. We were hoping Apple was about to solve some of that with AirPrint, but at the last minute it left out the Mac printer-sharing functionalities that were supposedly going to arrive with Mac OS X 10.6.5. That means as of right now the only way to do AirPrint with the yet-to-be-released iOS 4.2 is to buy one of those fancy new HP printers with the AirPrint-compatible ePrint functionality. We're guessing Apple is just giving this feature a little more time in the oven, but if you're just too passionate about printing things to wait, the FingerPrint application from Collobos might fill the void. The $8 app shares just about any printer that your Mac can find over Bonjour and... well, that's about it. Some printers work, some don't, and there's a trial period to find out if it'll work with your particular setup. Too rich for your blood? There's always the hack.
