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Introducing AirPlayer: Mac-based AirPlay service allows device-to-Mac playback
AirPlay is a very, very cool technology. Unfortunately, if you don't own an Apple TV 2 or other capable receiving device, it's not going to do you much good. (If you have the cash on-hand, for $99, the Apple TV mark 2 is a pretty sweet purchase. Just saying.) So I decided to figure out a way that people who didn't own an Apple TV, or who were on the road with their iPhone and a laptop could actually use AirPlay streaming "backwards" -- from their iDevice to their Mac. Behold our TUAW exclusive introduction, the development build of AirPlayer -- click Read More to see the video. What AirPlayer does is create and advertise a custom Bonjour AirPlay service that pretends to be an Apple TV. Bonjour is Apple's zero configuration networking solution for allowing devices and applications to communicate with each other over local area networks. When Apple created AirPlay, it basically set up a new way for Apple TV to interact with iOS using Bonjour communications.
QuickTime 7.6.9 out now, fixes a number of security issues
Apple has updated QuickTime to version 7.6.9, bringing out a whole slew of security fixes protecting against various "maliciously crafted" file formats. Apple has been working closely with security experts to hammer these out, and as a result, the software is much better protected against opening files designed to cause problems. You can find the update in the usual places, including a Software Update client near you, or directly from the QuickTime download website. Enjoy and be safe! Update: This fix is for Mac OS X Leopard and Windows users only, so if you're wondering why you don't see it in Software Update, that's probably why.
Italian Apple PR: Apple to live stream today's event [Updated]
With only hours to spare, it seems that Apple has announced its intentions to live stream today's press event -- at least it's been announced to Italian customers. According to Italian site setteB.IT, Apple has issued a media alert stating their intention to live stream today's big announcements. Macstories has posted the full text of the press release, which states (Italian-to-English translation from Babelfsh): "Apple® will transmit to online own event of 20 October using the Live Streaming HTTP of Apple to the vanguard in the field. The vision demands or a Mac® with Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10,6 Snow Leopard®, or iPhone® or a iPod touch® with iOS 3,0 or successive version, or a iPad™. The broadcast live it will begin to the 10:00 a.m. 20 PDT of October, 2010 on www.apple.com." As of this writing, there is no official announcement on Apple.com*or its Italian PR page, so keep that in mind while reading this post. It's exciting, but we'd prefer to hear it from the domestic horse's mouth. If it does indeed happen, it will be only the 2nd live stream from Apple to require QuickTime X (the Apple TV announcement was the first). *Update: Apple has posted an announcement.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Apple TV and oddball video formats
Hey Auntie TUAW, I just ordered my new Apple TV, and have a ton of footage in MKV, AVI, etc. which probably won't work with iTunes, let alone my Apple TV. What can I do to batch convert and import all my movies to iTunes, which will work with Apple TV and be as high-rez as possible? With all my love, Ari
iTunes 101: Using the Album Art widget
Here's a cool new feature in iTunes 10 that we haven't mentioned yet: when listening to any song in your library, you can double click on the album art window in the lower left hand corner to detach it from the main window and see it full size. That's not new -- you could get a closer look at the art in previous versions of iTunes. But what is new is that when you mouse over that detached art, you now get full QuickTime-style controls for your tracks. You can then minimize the main window (using those weirdly-aligned buttons, of course), and then just control the music directly from that square widget (which can also be resized any way you want). Pretty neat, and somewhat hard to find if you don't usually zoom in to see your album art full size. This replicates some (not all) of the functionality provided by CoverSutra and a number of other "iTunes controllers," so it looks like Apple has (yet again) decided to make a popular function in third-party apps part of the official thing.
Event streaming to stress-test new datacenter
Not much of a surprise, but nice to have some details: Cult of Mac cites a source close to Apple saying that the live stream of today's iPod event will be used to put some real-time load on Apple's new North Carolina data center. The facility isn't all the way operational quite yet, but it's apparently ready enough to play a major role in today's festivities. The NC datacenter is five times the size of Apple's similar facility on the West Coast and is officially intended to support the iTunes music and app stores. Obviously there's a lot more horsepower needed for streaming content, so here's where you'll find it. As noted last night, today's live stream is intended for Intel Mac OS X 10.6 users in Safari, iPhone/iPod touch users running iOS 3.1 or higher, and iPad users. Support for the HTTP Live Streaming methodology is included in the current version of the ffmpeg open source library, so in theory apps like Mplayer should be able to handle the stream; VLC may also work.
Vimeo embeds now working on iPad, iPhone
[Note: While most videos on Vimeo.com would play back on iDevices prior to this update if watched on the Vimeo site, the new 'Universal Player' embed code should allow publishers and website developers to include compatible embeds on their sites. Vimeo does not provide mobile versions of every video on the site, limiting some features to Plus (paid) users. Details on making videos mobile-friendly are in the Vimeo FAQ and the new features announcement. –Ed.] Popular video site Vimeo (think a more artsy YouTube) has changed its embed code to be completely HTML5 compatible, which means you can now browse the site completely embed videos that play back on the iPhone or the iPad. I just pulled the site up on my iPhone, and I have to say, I think it's a smoother browsing experience than the browser itself -- you just get a list of videos, and clicking on whichever one you want (like, for example, the great Dennis Liu music video above) opens it right up in Quicktime. Good deal. Vimeo's been flirting with HTML5 for the better part of this year, but this switchover means everything (including embeds when seen from an iPhone or iPad) is available in HTML5 from the start -- bye bye Flash. [Flash will still be served to desktop browsers. –Ed.] The new update also adds a "Watch Later" feature to accounts on the site, so you can save videos and pull them back up on the device of your choice, even if you're not using something that works well. Eventually, the Watch Later feature will be added in to the Vimeo API, and there's also a new Vimeo channel available on Roku set-top boxes if you've got one of those. But the HTML5 change is the biggest one -- one more site leaves the Flash-only fold and becomes extremely accessible to Apple's platform.
TUAW Liveblog: Apple Q3 earnings call
We're liveblogging today's Apple earnings results in the CoverItLive widget below -- be sure to click and join in to share your comments! You can also listen in on the call via QuickTime streaming. TUAW Coverage of the Apple 3Q Financial Call
The Virtual Whirl: A brief history of Second Life, the middle years
This week, we cover the second installment of our summarized history of Second Life and Linden Lab (or check out part one, if you missed it). From 2005, there's an impossible amount of material to cover, but there are some interesting stories lurking among it all. Join us as we work our way through some of the interesting highlights from 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Apple applies for patent to resume media playback on another device
Remember that "Continuous Client" piece that was burning up the pages of Alt the other day? Well, we might get one sliver of it fulfilled if Apple has any real plans for implementing this concept they're in the process of patenting. The idea basically uses cloud syncing to let a user pause a song or video on one device and then resume it from that same spot on another device -- perfect for Apple's little phone / PC / TV ecosystem. Not exactly earth shattering, and probably half as complicated as this diagram makes it out to be, but would certainly be convenient. You're going to do something cool like this right after you make good use of Lala, right Apple? Right?
Apple iPhone OS 4 Event now posted for QuickTime streaming
It's been a day of excitement surrounding the iPhone OS 4.0 event, and now you can relive the keynote at your convenience. Apple has posted the iPhone OS 4 Event keynote on its QuickTime site. Watching Steve wax on is always a good time, but be sure to come back here for the latest in-depth iPhone OS 4.0 news! Update: It's also available in the iTunes podcast for Apple keynotes. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Apple updates QuickTime for Leopard, Windows; iPhone Config Utility
In the midst of all the hoopla over iTunes 9.1 yesterday, Apple quietly snuck a few other updates out the door. iPhone Configuration Utility 2.2 for Mac OS X lets you create, maintain, encrypt, and install configuration profiles, track and install provisioning profiles and authorized applications, and capture device information including console logs. The update weighs in at 6.94MB and requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later. Apple QuickTime for Leopard - 7.6.6 includes changes that increase reliability, improve compatibility, and address security. It also includes general reliability improvements for iMovie. The update requires MAC OS X 10.5 Leopard. Apple QuickTime for Windows - 7.6.6. includes changes that increase reliability, improve compatibility, and address security. It requires Windows XP or Vista. There you go folks! Now you can get back to looking for hidden changes in iTunes 9.1!
iMovie, other non-Apple QuickTime components updated
Hot on the heels of yesterday's Aperture 3.0.2 update, Apple has released iMovie 8.0.6. The update improves reliability when working with videos from Aperture and requires Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later and iLife '09. The update weighs in at 35.84 MB and is available via the download link above or Software Update. In other movie software update news, Flip4Mac WMV has updated its free player to version 2.3.2. Flip4Mac is a QuickTime plugin that lets you watch WMV files in QuickTime Player. The new update fixes problems playing back files and streams with MP3 content and corrects problems launching QuickTime Player under Snow Leopard. Finally, Perian has been updated to 1.2.1. Perian is a QuickTime plugin that allows you to play virtually any kind of media through QuickTime Player. This update adds Indeo 5 decoding and fixes several bugs. Both Perian and Flip4Mac require 10.4 or higher.
TUAW Tip: Get your animated slideshows to MobileMe
For all the things Apple does right, there are some strange decisions in the integration of iPhoto and MobileMe. iPhoto has a wonderful way to create animated slideshows with music and professional looking transitions and you can look at them all day on your Mac, or send them to your iPhone or AppleTV. But things get ugly when you want to post them on the web for family and friends using MobileMe. It's baffling, but there is no direct way to upload an animation you've created to MobileMe, even though you can easily send stills or even iMovie videos to the web. Well, it can be done, but it's a non-intuitive work around. First, create your slide show in an iPhoto folder the usual way. Then hit the "Export" button on the lower right of the iPhoto screen. From there, you can determine the size of the QuickTime movie you want to make. If it's for the web, I'd suggest the large size. The movie will render, and then be placed in your iPhoto Slideshows folder inside the Pictures folder. From there, you have a couple of options, none of which are well documented: One way is to open your newly created movie in the latest version of QuickTime. Then from the Share menu, select "MobileMe gallery" from the options presented (you'll get the screen you can see in the thumbnail above). Another way to go is to is to import the movie into iMovie first, and then export it out to MobileMe from there. You can also drag the movie back into iPhoto (and yes, I know this is nutty) and then click the MobileMe icon to upload it there. Why can't you do this directly from iPhoto? Search me. It should be there -- maybe we'll see it in the app's next version. If you have another method to do this let us know.
Flash beta update, Perian gets a refresh
There were two minor video plug-in related updates last night. First Adobe released a new beta of their Flash Player 10.1 beta 2 (this on the heels of a set of security patches for the stable release version last week). Flash 10.1 is introducing a host of new features, but is primarily aimed at the mobile market. Among the biggest new features in 10.1 will be the ability for developers to create multi-touch aware Flash content for a wide range of devices. Looks like Adobe is still hoping to prove Flash worthy for Apple for use on the iPhone. Along with this beta release Adobe has reminded us that they are abandoning the G3 processor after this upcoming version of Flash. In the release notes [PDF] and in last week's security announcement, Adobe says: Note: The Adobe Flash Player 10.1 release, expected in the first half of 2010, will be the last version to support Macintosh PowerPC-based G3 computers. Adobe will be discontinuing support of PowerPC- based G3 computers and will no longer provide security updates after the Flash Player 10.1 release. This unavailability is due to performance enhancements that cannot be supported on the older PowerPC architecture. I'm all for moving forward with tech, and G3 are ancient by today's standards anyway. Besides, how many people will this decision actually affect? In other plugin news, Perian, which we've mentioned several times here on TUAW, has been updated to version 1.2. Perian enables QuickTime support for additional media types, including: AVI, FLV, and MKV file formats MS-MPEG4 v1 & v2, DivX, 3ivx, H.264, FLV/Sorenson Spark, FSV1, VP6, H263i, VP3, HuffYUV, FFVHuff, MPEG1 & MPEG2 Video, Fraps, Windows Media Audio v1 & v2, Flash ADPCM, Xiph Vorbis (in Matroska), and MPEG Layer II Audio AVI support for: AAC, AC3 Audio, H.264, MPEG4, and VBR MP3 Subtitle support for SSA/ASS and SRT This is Perian's first major update since Snow Leopard has arrived. While there are no big new features, it's always nice to see an update after a big OS upgrade just to know that everything works on the new system.
Development of VLC for Mac 64-bit is on hold, project needs developers
Development on the 64-bit version of VLC Player for Mac has hit the pause button. The Videolan team is looking for Mac development talent to help move the project forward, and revamp the program's interface to be more Mac-like. While the team says that reports of VLC Mac's death are 'greatly exaggerated,' they could definitely use some help. As we've mentioned before, VLC is a free, open source media player that supports various audio and video formats (MPEG, DivX/Xvid, Ogg, and many more) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and streaming protocols. While the 32-bit version still works fine on Snow Leopard, the 64- bit version (which briefly appeared as 1.0.3, only to disappear again with 1.0.4) is intended to be higher-performance; it also would work more seamlessly with the 64-bit version of Handbrake. The news of VLC for Mac's 64-bit freezeout started today with this post on videolan.org: This is going to sound like a PBS sponsorship drive, but it needs to be said: While VLC is an open source project provided to you free of charge, as with other open source projects, its existence depends on everyone who provides support to the project. This support can come in many forms, such as: - joining the team and contributing code - spending time in the forum helping out other VLC users - making a donation Every bit helps, since without it the community dies and the project with it. As mentioned [earlier] we are in desperate need of Mac developers who can help maintain the Mac side of VLC. If you or someone you know is in position to join the team then please let us know. Until we have more Mac developers then the 64-bit version of VLC for MacOS X will be on hold! Though the new QuickTime X Player has much room for improvement, I've gotten quite used to it and watch all my movie files in it save WMV (which QuickTime plays via the Flip4Mac plugin). For some reason, QTX requires WMV files to go through a loading process before you can skim through the video. On VLC there is no loading process for WMV files before you can skim. This is only one of the many benefits of using VLC, as I'm sure many of our readers can attest. There are still some alternatives to VLC, including 3ivX, FFmpeg and Perian. There's also this little preference pane to make QTX more enjoyable. But these are all alternatives, not replacements for this great app. Here's hoping that the holiday spirit will inspire a few Mac devs to step up and keep VLC moving forward.
Apple releases updates improving printing, scanning, iSight cameras and QuickTime
Over the past few days, Apple has been releasing updates for printer and scanner drivers in Snow Leopard, iSight cameras in LED Cinema Displays and QuickTime 7 for Windows. First, Apple released printer driver updates for Snow Leopard for Lexmark printers and Brother, Canon and HP printers and scanners. Next, Apple released a firmware update for the iSight camera that's built into the Apple LED Cinema Display. According to Apple, this firmware update corrects an issue with the built-in iSight camera on the LED Cinema Display where the camera may not be recognized by applications. Finally, Apple released QuickTime 7.6.5 for Windows, which fixes an issue where applications weren't reliably loading libraries required by QuickTime at startup and the incorrect display of QuickTime movies embedded in a webpage using custom scale attributes. All of these updates are available from the Apple Support downloads page and Software Update.
Quick QuickTime Q&A
QuickTime was one of the few apps which changed significantly in Snow Leopard. We've heard from some readers who missed the initial reports about it, so we're repeating it here, with some additional QuickTime information. Q: "What happened to QuickTime in Snow Leopard?" QuickTime Player "X" has brought significant changes to the way the app looks and works. Most notably, there is no "chrome" to the player when a file is being played. This is intended to let you see as much of the picture as possible. Q: "How do I get the old QuickTime back?" You can install QuickTime Player 7 on Snow Leopard. Apple even posted instructions which boil down to this: Insert your Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Install DVD. Open the Optional Installs folder and double-click "Optional Installs.mpkg". Select the QuickTime 7 option and click Continue. QuickTime Player 7 will be installed in your Utilities folder. It goes on to say "If you double-click any media that requires QuickTime Player 7 for playback and it is not already installed, you will be asked if you want to download it from Apple." Q: "I had QuickTime Pro before I upgraded to Snow Leopard, I want to use its features!" That's not really a question, but we understand that you're upset. QuickTime Pro had the ability to do more than QuickTime X. If you installed Snow Leopard over your Leopard installation, check /Applications/Utilities/ QuickTime 7 should already be there. If not, you can install it as above. Q: "I have QuickTime 7.6.3, and I tried to install 7.6.4 but it wouldn't let me." That isn't a question either. You're not very good at this Q&A thing, are you? Nevermind. This confused me as well. The webpage for QuickTime 7.6.4 says that it is for "... Mac OS X 10.5 or later" but the download page for QuickTime 7 says that it is for Leopard or Tiger only. The installer for QuickTime 7.6.4 refuses to install on Snow Leopard. Q: "What's New in QuickTime 7.6.4?" That's a good question. From Apple: "QuickTime 7.6.4 includes changes that increase reliability, improve compatibility and enhance security. This release is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users." It's unclear why this isn't available for Snow Leopard. Perhaps the security and compatibility aren't applicable. I hope. Q: "How can I take a screenshot of a movie in QuickTime X?" One gripe about the new QuickTime X is that when you pause a video, the on-screen controls stay visible, making it impossible to grab a clean screenshot. TUAW reader Gwion Daniel wrote in to tell us that you can make the controls fade by double-clicking the picture frame. I have had mixed results with this. I have had the most success double-clicking on the far right side of the window (where the scrollbar would be, if there was one). Sometimes it seems to work, sometimes it takes a few tries. If you can't get it to work, fire up VLC and use the menu item Video > Snapshot. Q: "What happened to QuickTime X's preferences?" Thery aren't any clearly visibe as there's no preference menu. However, if you install the Secrets preference panel which we mentioned earlier you'll find hidden preferences for: Autoplay movies on open Allow multiple simultaneous recordings Always hide title bar Autohide titlebar/controller Autoshow titlebar/controller Automatically show subtitles and closed captioning on open Exit fullscreen when switching apps Use square corners I'm hoping that the new QuickTime player will eventually regain all of QuickTime 7 Pro's functionality and the user interface will become a little more user-friendly (hiding these basic preferences seems like an odd decision), but for now we are living in an in-between time in QuickTime's development. QuickTime turns 18 this year, and it's obviously going through some changes. 'Ol Quicktime is no longer who it was, nor is it yet what it will be when it grows up. At least you don't have to worry about it staying out all night with its friends.
Using aliases to extend Front Row's capabilities
While Front Row's integration with iTunes and iPhoto provides a nice, seamless experience, there are times when your needs demand a not-so-integrated approach -- say, for example, if you have an external hard drive full of videos that you'd like to watch on Front Row, but don't necessarily want to import into iTunes or copy into your Movies. One solution to this is to create an alias that points to said external hard drive or any other folder on your computer or network. For new PC-to-Mac converts, an alias is the equivalent of a "shortcut" on Windows. To create an alias, right-click on the file or folder (in our case, folder) and select "Make Alias." Now, place said alias in the your Movies folder, which is located in /Users/username/Movies. Now, you'll be able to browse and play movies of the folder that the alias points to. And if QuickTime can play the file, then so too can Front Row.
Snow Leopard shipping August 28th for $29, order now
Well, it's not September, but we're not going to hold an early launch of its performance-focused Snow Leopard OS against Apple. The Apple store has come back online bearing an order page for OS X version 10.6 in Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Pro... oh wait, it's just $29 as an upgrade from 10.5. August 28th, that's when, now go 'n get it.While you wait for that order to ship, Apple wants you to know that Snow Leopard's Finder is more responsive, Mail loads messages twice as fast, Time Machine will complete initial backups 80 percent faster, and a 64-bit version of Safari 4 is 50 percent faster than its predecessors. There's even QuickTime X with a redesigned player that lets users view, record, trim and share video. Of course, this release also includes Grand Central Dispatch, a new way for devs to take advantage of multi-core processors as well as OpenCL support to accelerate apps with the help of that idling graphics processor. Oh, and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange too. All in all, a worthy update, especially for the price.P.S. Requires Intel-based Mac.
