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Avatron Kickstarts Everydisk project for secure personal cloud storage
The remote data field is dominated by powerhouses like Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, SugarSync and so on. Whether you're looking for a hardware network-attached storage (NAS) solution or a cloud-storage server, there's probably a vendor or 10 you've already heard of. Now, iOS/Mac development house Avatron is attempting to step into this crowded arena. Avatron's new Everydisk Kickstarter hopes to securely serve your files from your home system to wherever you are. The big selling point behind Everydisk is its unlimited NAS-like storage. You get access to your entire disk, not just a special folder, the way you would with Dropbox and not just a standalone drive, as you would with PogoPlug or Transporter. According to the Avatron team, Everydisk creates its own secure tunnel between your computer and your access point, using Diffie-Hellman key exchange, offering you a way to confidently grab the materials you need. Avatron's hoping its combination of heightened privacy, unlimited storage and full disk access will set it apart from the current crop of competition. It's built around the same Air Connect technology used for Air Login, an app many of us here at TUAW have used and liked. As Avatron founder Dave Howell puts it, "It's basically like Back to My Mac, but it isn't broken. And it's like a VPN except it's easy to use and supports Bonjour and other UDP-based services." Their Kickstarter has about three weeks to go and is currently at about 19 percent pledged. The available pledges offer discounted subscription access to the service once it ships. When we last checked, nearly all the super-discount early bird offers had been claimed, but there are still some excellent values to be had.
CES 2013: Kanex introduces meDrive, a simple file server for iDevices and Macs
Kanex just announced its new meDrive, a bring-your-own storage network drive, accessible from your computer or iOS mobile device. Supporting WebDAV and Bonjour, it offers easy setup and discovery. Retailing for US$99, the device is particularly helpful for anyone who wants to bring along videos and other large storage items without taking up a device's limited storage. Meant for use on trips and for serving data on local networks, you can swap out drives as needed. WebDAV allows an easy way for small business to share iWork files as well. The related myDrive management app is free at the iOS App Store. We'll review the hardware in the coming weeks.
Apple proposing new Bonjour sharing standard
In order to remedy the woes many universities are experiencing using Apple's Bonjour zero-configuration Multicast DNS technology on large scale networks, NetworkWorld reports that the company is proposing a new standard that can be built to support huge numbers of users at once. "We targeted Bonjour at home networks, but over the last 10 years Multicast DNS -- what Apple calls Bonjour -- has become very popular," explains Apple engineer Stuart Cheshire, speaking at an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meeting this week. "Every network printer uses Bonjour. TiVo, home video recorders and cameras use it. iPads and iPhones use it, and we are starting to get a lot of demand from customers that they won't be able to print from iPads to a printer in the next building." Universities have been quite outspoken about their desire to have Apple step in and offer new solutions, and the wishlist of new functionality is long. Things like smooth communication between separate IP subnets and added security and encryption features are at the top of the list. But Apple won't be doing it alone, and the IETF will play a big role in building the new standard. The task force will be meeting again in March 2013, and by that point it is expected that work on the project will be well underway.
Adafruit launches Raspberry Pi Educational Linux Distro, hastens our hacking
The Raspberry Pi is already considered a hacker's paradise. However, that assumes that owners have all the software they need to start in the first place. Adafruit wants to give the process a little nudge through its Raspberry Pi Educational Linux Distro. The software includes a customized distribution of Raspbian, Occidentalis, that either turns on or optimizes SSHD access, Bonjour networking, WiFi adapter support and other hack-friendly tools. The build further rolls in Hexxeh's firmware and a big, pre-built 4GB SD card image. Before you start frantically clicking the download link, be aware that the "educational" title doesn't refer to a neophyte's playground -- Adafruit still assumes you know enough about Linux and Raspberry Pi units to be productive (or dangerous). Anyone who was already intrigued by the Raspberry Pi by itself, though, might appreciate what happens when it's tossed into a fruit salad.
iPhoto Beaming: Under the hood
Earlier today, Steve Sande showed you how to beam photos using the new iPhoto app. Now it's my turn, and I'll briefly discuss what's actually happening when you use this new feature. Beaming relies on two devices sharing the same Wi-Fi network. That's because the communication channel seems to be built on Zero Configuration (Bonjour) networking. Bonjour, Apple's branding for zeroconf/mDNS device discovery, allows computers and mobile devices to advertise services on a shared network. This lets Macs, PCs and iOS devices easily connect to printers, AirPlay servers, and so forth. iPhoto Beaming uses a UDP service called _mobileiphoto._udp. Devices that are ready to receive beams announce themselves in an easily discoverable way. A service appears on-network as soon as you enable Wireless Beaming. To beam, a source device searches for possible recipients. Once detected, iPhoto offers to connect to them. It negotiates a handshake, asks for permission at the far end to send data, and then transfers photos. The Bonjour device name seems to be made up of a hash filed by a local file name. This is quite similar to what goes on with GameKit peer-to-peer connectivity. Only properly hashed identifiers are recognized as valid destinations. To spoof iPhoto, a Mac client would need to provide a valid hash in this way. And, no, I was unable to get my GameKit hashing to match the iPhoto beaming hash in my initial attempts. Possibly operator error on my part, possibly they just used a different approach. What's more, the executable seems to be built using GKSession objects, so there's apparently some common genetic background between the two approaches. I didn't find other GameKit classes, so not all that much commonality. Before jumping into iPhoto, I had been hoping this would be some kind of AirDrop implementation that might later open up to other apps -- but from what my quick dive indicates, it looks like this is proprietary to iPhoto and not going to become a general solution yet. To summarize, the iPhoto beaming looks, at least from my initial scans, to be a jury-rigged solution proprietary to this one title rather than a general iOS file-sharing solution. The app-specific Bonjour name (mobileiphoto) and lack of custom framework classes suggest this isn't the future, it's just iPhoto. Pity.
Canon adds AirPrint to Pixma printers
Canon today announced 3 of its all-in-one Pixma printers will now support AirPrint from Apple. The printers are the MG8220, the MG6220 and the MG5320. Canon has posted a web page with more details. Some of the printers may require a firmware update to function properly. AirPrint is the wireless printing technology Apple introduced in iOS 4.2, offering print services from the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Originally, AirPrint was heralded to work with a variety of printers networked to a Mac, but when actually released AirPrint worked with only a handful of HP products. Third parties have offered AirPrint functionality to get around the Apple restrictions. Printopia works quite well, and works with almost any networked printer. Another Bonjour-based printing solution is available from FingerPrint,
AirMediaPlayer gives Windows users a whiff of Apple AirPlay (video)
We heard it was in development just two days ago and now we've got a first glimpse at Apple's AirPlay media streamer working a Windows PC. The hack comes courtesy of the free AirMediaPlayer client for Windows client (currently at version 1.0.5) that leverages the Microsoft .NET framework 3.5 SP1, Quicktime, and Bonjour for Windows to enable AirPlay media streaming from any iOS device back a XP, Vista, or Windows 7 PC. Possibly good to news for those of you with PC-based media centers. Catch all the hot Apple on Microsoft video action after the break.
AirPlay hacked onto XBMC Ubuntu PC, Windows next (video)
You won't find this hack available for download just yet, but Erica Sadun over at TUAW has posted a video showing AirPlay streaming from an iPad to an XBMC media server running on Ubuntu. As we understand it, the Linux box runs the AirPlay client service with XBMC advertising its availability using the Bonjour-compatible Avahi. Erica, who helped initiate all this AirPlay trickery with her early code spelunking efforts, says that Windows hacks are also in development. Click on through to see AirPlay take another bold step down the path of device agnosticism.
Palm Developer Day reveals interesting bits on the webOS 2010 roadmap
It's hard to mention the word "Palm" without also mentioning either "takeover" or "shakeup" in the same sentence these days, but the company was able to change the subject -- rather refreshingly, may we add -- to the more pleasant topic of new webOS features coming down the pike at its Developer Day conference in Sunnyvale this weekend. It doesn't look like we'll see anything Earth-shattering this year, but devs will be getting their grubby paws on some oft-requested features including direct API access to the microphone and camera, new security and cryptography features, some sort of "media indexer" that'll make life easier on folks trying to make media apps, and support for Bonjour, zero-config networking, and the Bluetooth Serial Port Profile, a rather generic profile that should open up the door to new categories of accessories that we haven't seen paired to a Pre before. They'll also be adding support for asynchronous background services written in JavaScript, which should theoretically allow data-intensive apps to be more responsive while they're hard at work; a redesigned App Catalog (pictured); and a new set of developer extensions called Mojo Core that promises to let folks with existing web apps convert them into webOS apps way faster. Palm's being coy about when exactly we'll see this, but the official word is that everything they're discussing this weekend should be in users' hands by Fall. As far as we know, they didn't append "come hell, high water, or acquisition" to that timeline, but we figure it was implied. [Thanks, David R.]
iPhoto update, Bonjour Print Services available for Windows users
Along with the iTunes update, iPhoto '09 users will also see an upgrade to 8.1.2 sitting in their Software Update right now -- namely to fix import and syncing issues with the iPhone, iPod and Apple TV. Canon printer and scanner users will also have the latest software for their products installed. You can pick up the 12.9mb update right now in the Software Update app. Windows users can also download Bonjour Print Services to discover and configure Bonjour-enabled printers using the Bonjour Printer Wizard. Thanks to those who tipped us off!
ePrint is a nice solution to printing from your iPhone
The iPhone wasn't designed from scratch to print things, but it can be done. I've reviewed some solutions in the past, including one that required you to run a small print server on your computer, which then directs your print jobs to any local printers. There are also some apps that print photos directly to printers. I've just tried ePrint, which has some limitations, but gets the job done without any print servers. There are two versions of the app: The free version, ePrint Free [iTunes link] lets you print contacts, notes (more on that later), photo albums, and even brings up the camera so you can fire off a snapshot and print it immediately. The paid version [iTunes link], meanwhile, is U.S. $2.99 and adds the ability to print web pages as well Setting up is easy. The app will find your printers in a snap if your phone is in Wi-Fi mode, and you are running Bonjour zero configuration setup on your network. You can also elect to enter the IP addresses of your printers as well. If your printer is color, and you send color images, you'll get them in color. There are a few catches, however. To print a web page you either have to enter a URL for it in ePrint, or set a preference to bring up the last web page viewed. When you go to print notes in either app, it doesn't mean from your Notes app. ePrint can only print from the ePrint Notes app, although you can still copy and paste any text into it and print away. That's how I test-printed an email, because Apple doesn't allow any way to print an email or anything else directly. After doing a 'select all' on an email, I copied and pasted it into the ePrint Notes app, and it worked just fine.
Apple releases Bonjour update
Apple released a Bonjour update today that is suppose to improve the connections between iTunes and the Apple TV. For those who have downloaded it and own an Apple TV, have you seen any improvements? Please let us know in the comments. Bonjour Update 2010-001 is available now via Software Update. It is not yet available through Apple's support downloads site. Thanks to all those who sent in the tip!
Apple's top technical feats of the decade
We're well into 2010 (OK, 4 days), but there's still a few more lists and "top tens" of the last decade to clean up. One of the more interesting Apple-related wrapups is this list by Fraser Spiers, showing off Apple's best technical feats of the past decade. There's certainly tons of technical innovations by Apple in "the naughties" to choose from -- it was the decade of the iPod and the iPhone. But Spiers' list actually avoids direct mention of either of those, instead choosing to highlight some more Mac-based technical feats. Bonjour is in there, as is the great Time Machine and Snow Leopard's Grand Central Dispatch system. Webkit is probably an obvious choice, given all the places it's shown up in Apple's various releases. And there are some more interesting picks on the list as well, including Aperture, the underrated Exposé, and even the unibody laptop design. Some might argue that a few of these aren't necessarily Apple's innovations (I wouldn't necessarily credit them with DVD burning and encoding in the 2000s), but it's true that all of these were brought into a widespread, acclaimed form by Apple. If nothing else, a list like this shows just how much Apple has done for personal computing in the last ten years -- we tend to think first, these days, of their handheld accomplishments, but they've had plenty of other technical feats as well. [via Michael Tsai]
TiVo, Sony and others to FCC: 'gateways' should replace CableCARD
All the comments to the FCC in response to the call for ideas to replace the failed CableCARD idea were due this week so we spent a little time reading a few of them and found some overwhelming trends. Everyone seems to applaud the death of CableCARD and is pushing for an end to the associated mandates as well as those related to 1394. Neither of these two ideas worked out as planned as is evident by the fact that most consumers don't use them. What's more interesting though is the recommendations and none were as detailed and thought out as TiVo's -- although we admit we didn't read them all. The idea TiVo and others are getting behind is what might be known as a gateway, which we envision would look a lot like a cable modem. The key here is that while various gateways would be available depending on the medium your preferred provider used (coax, satellite, fiber), they'd all share a common interface on the consumer side and as you might expect this common interface would be of the IP variety with standard internet protocols like HTTP and SSL on top of it.
Ask TUAW: Silencing iPhone notifications, remote control a PC, printing over the internet, and more
Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about controlling a PC over the internet, silencing iPhone email notifications at night, replacing a MacBook Pro SuperDrive with a hard drive, printing over the internet, setting iCal as the default calendar, and more. As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions.
Using DHCP Reservations to overcome Bonjour woes
I love everything about my MacBook Pro, but for some reason it does not like to share its screen. It appears under the "Shared" section of the sidebar in Finder, and file sharing works perfectly, but for some reason screen sharing won't work. The "Connecting To 'MacBookPro'" panel will pop up and then disappear a few moments later (as if it is about to connect), but at least 90% of the time no screen sharing window appears. Fellow TUAW writer Aron Trimble suggested that I go into Finder and try "Go > Connect to Server" and then put in "vnc://10.0.x.x" (where 10.0.x.x is my MacBook Pro's IP address). That worked immediately, and every time. This confirmed that it wasn't a firewall setting (Screen Sharing is explicitly on) or trouble accessing the MacBook Pro over the LAN (file sharing already worked perfectly). For some reason the screen sharing connection was just not being made over Bonjour. The only drawback to this direct-IP method is that my network, like most, uses dynamic addresses with DHCP, meaning that the IP addresses change from time to time, especially on a network with multiple devices which are not always turned on. My first thought was to create a static IP for the MacBook Pro in System Preferences > Network, but then I realized that my office LAN uses IPs which start with 192.168.x.x. I could create a new network "Location" but that would also involve manually switching it back and forth, or using a third-party program. What I really needed was a way to make sure that my MacBook Pro is given the same IP every time it connects to my home LAN. Fortunately, Apple's Airport Extreme will allow me to do just that using DHCP Reservations. A DHCP Reservation tells the Airport Extreme to reserve a certain IP address for certain computers, as determined either by a "DHCP Client ID" or the computer's MAC address. A DHCP Client ID is easier to remember than a MAC address, but the MAC address will never change unless you swap out the logic board or Airport card of your Mac. I'll show you how to set it up using either method.
Try Bonjour on your PC for using Mac printers
It's not a hidden secret, but lots of people simply don't know about it. We mentioned it ourselves more than a year ago in answer to a reader question, but I think it's worth a revisit.Here's my scenario. People show up at the house with PC laptops and want to print something. A boarding pass, an email, a web page. They screw around with Windows control panels trying to find the printers on my Mac network. In my case, they are both shared on a Mac Pro. Enter Bonjour. It's the Apple answer to zero configuration networking. All you have to do is download Bonjour for Windows. There's also a 64-bit version if you need it.Once it is downloaded you'll get a Printer Wizard, which will instantly find the printers available on your network, including the shared ones. (Make sure you are sharing them in the Sharing pane of System Preferences.)Now when your guests want to print, they will be all set. No other drivers are needed. I now keep the Bonjour for Windows .exe on a thumb drive. I hand it to guests, and they are ready to roll.Bonjour can do more than discover printers. Per Apple:Bonjour for Windows includes a plugin to discover advertised HTTP servers using Internet Explorer. Click the Bonjour icon in the Internet Explorer toolbar to enable Bonjour browsing. If you have Bonjour devices on your local network with embedded HTTP (Web) servers, they will appear in the list.It's possible you have a printer that doesn't support Bonjour, but most do. In my case an Epson and a Brother laser printer worked with no glitches. Bonjour requires Windows 2000/2003, Windows XP or Windows Vista.If only everything in life was this simple.
iPhone 3.0 feature roundup
If you've been listening to all the clamoring on Twitter, or perhaps have seen the updated Apple page, then you know there was an iPhone event today to discuss a new version of the iPhone OS, version 3.0. While you will have to wait until the summer to get the new version (unless you join the developer program), Apple showed off over 100 new features that we're all excited about. iPhone developers are also getting some love from Apple with over 1,000 new APIs. Some of the biggest updates include: Push notifications will be standard in iPhone 3.0. Apple claims that there was a scaling issue when they first announced this feature last year, with thousands of developers clamoring to use it, so it had to be delayed. Developers will be able to build message, sound, and badge alerts into their applications. iPhone will support cut, copy and paste -- copy text and pictures, then paste them in any application on the device. If you change your mind about the newly pasted data, just shake to display a menu asking if you wish to undo the paste. In-App purchasing -- developers will have the ability to charge a fee from within the application for more levels in a game, magazine subscriptions, eBooks, etc. This solves the problem of the 20 ebook readers that only allow you to read one book each. MMS -- you'll be able to use MMS on your iPhone 3G (yes, 1st gen iPhones will not get the fortune of using MMS due to the use of a different cell radio). The new Messages application will be taking the place of the SMS app and will allow you to send voice memos and pictures to your friends. Peer-to-Peer connectivity -- allows iPhone apps the ability to find other iPhone users over WiFi or Bluetooth. This can be using for anything from gaming to sharing data. Third-party Accessories -- app developers can now access third-party accessories attached to the iPhone. This could allow for developers to interface with their own accessories to create a truly unique experience on the device. One of the demonstrated uses was a prototype blood glucose meter for the iPhone, from a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, which is already getting attention from our readers; it's not for sale yet! Apple will now be allowing applications the ability to get GPS coordinates from Core Location and turn that into software that provides Turn-by-Turn directions for iPhone users. However, due to the terms of use with Google maps, developers will be required to license their own maps for this use (meaning that Turn-by-Turn GPS applications will almost certainly be paid apps). This isn't a problem for vendors like TomTom or Telenav, who already have licenses for their map data. A landscape keyboard option is now available in all iPhone applications, including the infamous Mail.app. Voice memos will allow iPhone users the ability to capture audio and then email it, or send it through the Messages application as a multimedia message. System-wide Spotlight searching is built right into the home screen. To the left of the first home screen, there is a magnifying glass, so by flicking to the left of the first home screen will show this search app. You can search for anything, including mail, music, and notes. There is no word yet on how this will interface with third-party applications. Stereo Bluetooth audio devices are now supported through the use of A2DP technology. iPhone owners should note that A2DP technology and the use of MMS will not be available on 1st generation iPhones. This is probably due to the iPhone Bluetooth spec used, and Apple has confirmed (during the Q&A session after the keynote) that MMS is not available because of the cell radio used. iPhone OS 3.0 will be available for regular users "this summer." iPhone developers will be able to get the beta of OS 3.0 sometime today -- Apple is still busy updating their iPhone Dev Center, but we'll let you know when it is available.
iPhone to support paid DLC, peer-to-peer connections
The iPhone OS 3.0 preview event has already revealed two new developments that are going to change iPhone gaming: the ability for developers to sell downloadable content from within an app, and a peer-to-peer capability. According to Engadget's liveblog of the event (which you should be refreshing obsessively), the new In-App Purchase program will allow apps to interface with the iTunes Store from within, using a standard interface to sell DLC. Apple's Scott Forstall clarified that this is for paid apps only: "Free apps remain free -- you won't be asked to buy something in that app."The other big new development: peer-to-peer connectivity. In Forstall's words, "With the new APIs, you can bring up a standard system panel which finds other touches or iPhones which are in the same app. You form an IP connection, and you can game together. This will automatically discover running apps, wirelessly over Bluetooth." The possibilities for ad-hoc gaming suggest that waiting in line at the next Apple event will be a lot more enjoyable. It will also be used for sharing information or whatever, but yay games.
Air Photo prints photos directly from iPhone or iPod touch
Our good friends at Download Squad found a great app on the App Store called Air Photo that will let you wirelessly print pictures directly from your iPhone or iPod touch. Just install the app (for $1.99, cheap if you print your iPhone's photos often) on your mobile device, put the server on your Mac (or PC, if you swing that way), and then you can snap and print at will. Connecting to the server from your device opens up a Bonjour window, where you can crop or adjust the picture and then print whatever you like. While the technology itself won't be that helpful for everyone (who really prints pictures any more, especially iPhone pictures?), it is interesting to see this done so easily and well with a wireless connection. Sure, there's apps like Remote and the Keynote controllers, but it seems like the iPhone-as-wireless-accessory idea is still relatively untapped on the App Store.
