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Poll: Have you upgraded to iOS 5?
We've heard plenty of you are receiving various error messages while attempting to install iOS 5, and some of us haven't had much luck either. But have you been able to upgrade? Let us know in the poll below, and jump past the break to sound off in the comments.%Poll-69801%
TUAW TV Live: Discussions of all things Apple
Hopefully by the time the show starts today, many of you will be running iOS 5 on your iOS devices. If not, we'll still be talking about some of its features and the new apps that are appearing -- like Find My Friends and the AirPort Utility for iOS. There are also some other fun things to talk about, like iCloud and the iPhone 4S. With me today live from Honolulu, Hawaii is Doc Rock. As you've probably seen from our earlier adventures together, the discussion can go all over the place, and whatever we see in the chat room is also fair game for talk. Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. Remember that you can also join us on IRC server chat1.ustream.tv, chat room #tuaw-tv. 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 and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat. We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.
Daily Update for October 12, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Apple TV update released, adds new content providers (updated)
With all the other iOS-based devices in Apple's lineup getting an update today, it's no surprise that the Apple TV received one as well. The update is expected to add access to Photo Stream and will also add the new iTunes Movie Trailers app that was released for iOS today. Other new features include content from the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Wall Street Journal Live. We'll update with a full changelog once one is available. Update (3:45 p.m. ET): After a lengthy update, the full changes include: AirPlay mirroring with the iPad 2 added Photo Stream activated Trailers installed National Hockey League content added with the ability to watch live games and view highlights, scores and more Wall Street Journal Live added with up-to-date news, business commentary and financial analysis
Aperture 3.2 adds iCloud integration, photo stream
Apple's pro photography app, Aperture, has been updated to version 3.2. The latest version changes all Aperture's references to MobileMe into iCloud integration instead. It also introduces support for Photo Stream, which allows photos taken on iOS devices to automatically sync to all of your registered devices via iCloud. Aperture 3.2 also comes with a load of bug fixes, detailed below: Resolves an issue that could cause the "Loading" indicator to reappear in the Viewer when cropping a photo Aperture now automatically relaunches into Full Screen mode if the application was in Full Screen mode when last quit Pinch-to-zoom gesture now automatically activates Zoom mode in the Viewer Left and right swipe gestures can now be used to navigate between photos in the Viewer Microsoft Outlook can now be chosen in Preferences as the application used by Aperture for emailing photos Fixes a problem that could cause Aperture, running on OS X Lion, to quit unexpectedly when using brushes to apply adjustments Loupe now correctly displays magnification levels between 50-100%. Fixes an issue that could cause Aperture, running on OS X Lion, to display the incorrect color profile on externally edited images Import window now includes an option to delete photos from iPhone and iPad after they have been imported into Aperture The Lift & Stamp tool now displays the correct cursor icons when being used in Split View and Viewer only mode The Aperture update is available via the Mac App Store if you bought it there. If you bought Aperture on disc, you can update via Software Update or direct download at Apple's support site. Note that due to the massive amount of software updates Apple has released today, Apple's support site's downloads page seems to be a bit unreliable at the moment.
iOS 5 review
Snow Leopard review Apple: Six million copies of OS X Lion downloaded since launch Auto-suggestion keyboard found hiding inside iOS 5 Now well into its fifth year of life, iOS has always been known for its exceptional polish -- and also, its glaring feature holes. But, just like clockwork, each year since its 2007 debut, those shortcomings have been addressed one by one in a sweeping annual update. In 2008, the platform was opened up to developers giving us the App Store, 2009 saw the introduction of copy and paste -- which we'd argue is still the best implementation to date -- and last year "multitasking" finally made a presence. So what has Apple chosen to rectify in 2011? Well, for starters, notifications gets a complete overhaul with Notification Center, tethered syncing dies at the hands of iCloud and messaging gets a do-over with the birth of iMessage. If you recall, we first got acquainted with iOS 5 in May after downloading the developer preview, but how does the final release stack up? And does it have the chops to compete with the latest from Mountain View and Redmond? After drudging through seven betas, we're ready to conquer all that the final release has to offer, so join us, if you would, past the break.
iWork apps updated with new features, iCloud integration
Apple's three iWork apps have been updated alongside iOS 5 going live. The updates are available now through the App Store and include the following: Keynote Automatically store presentations in iCloud and keep them synced among multiple iDevices. Download presentations to a Mac or PC at icloud.com/iwork as Keynote '09, PowerPoint, or PDF files. Drag and drop Keynote '09 or PowerPoint presentations to icloud.com from your Mac or PC to have them automatically appear on iOS devices. Airplay added New builds and transitions including Anvil, Blinds, Color Panes, Comet, Confetti, Diffuse, and Sparkle. Advanced presentation controls including looped slideshows and autoplay. Support for slide-to-slide hyperlinks. Pages Automatically store documents in iCloud and keep them synced among multiple iDevices. Download documents to a Mac or PC at icloud.com/iwork as Pages '09, PowerPoint, or PDF files. Drag and drop Pages '09 or plain text documents to icloud.com from your Mac or PC to have them automatically appear on iOS devices. Use your voice to create and edit Pages documents with dictation in iOS 5 on the iPhone 4S. Create footnotes and endnotes in documents. Numbers Automatically store documents in iCloud and keep them synced among multiple iDevices. Download spreadsheets to a Mac or PC at icloud.com/iwork as Numbers '09, PowerPoint, or PDF files. Drag and drop Numbers '09 or Excel or CSV files to icloud.com from your Mac or PC to have them automatically appear on iOS devices. Use sliders, steppers, and pop-ups to easily enter data and explore results. Use Merge Cells to format your tables. Hide and show rows and columns. These releases also include a number of other fixes and improved language support.
TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT: iOS 5, iPhone 4S, and Steve Jobs
Just after the conclusion of last week's TUAW TV Live show, word of the death of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs began circulating. It's hard to believe that it's been a week, and a lot has happened since then. iOS 5 is about to drop, the iPhone 4S is arriving in the hands of Mac fans around the world, and iCloud is live. Today on TUAW TV Live, my guest is everybody's favorite target for cyber-stalking on Find My Friends, Doc Rock! We know where he'll be -- sitting in front of his Mac, talking with you and me. Much of our discussion will be aimed at iOS 5, Siri, and iCloud. As usual, I'll be starting the show at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT / 10 PM BST) sharp, and we'll take a few minutes to chat before the demos and discussion start. To join in on the chat and watch the live streaming video, drop by TUAW about five minutes before the start time to get your instructions on how to participate. If you're unable to join us for the show, remember that you can always subscribe to the video podcast and watch the show at your leisure in iTunes or any other favorite podcatching app. The past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel. The chat is now available as well on IRC: join us on server chat1.ustream.tv, chat room #tuaw-tv. One more thing: Doc has a wonderful video available for your viewing pleasure, titled "Before You Update to iOS 5, Watch This Video." We've embedded it below.
iOS 5 and OS X 10.7.2 available for download: get your iCloud and iMessage on
Even if you were one of those Apple fans who was less than impressed by the iPhone 4S, there is still reason for excitement -- and that reason's name is iOS 5. If you've got an iPhone 3GS, 4, third- or fourth-gen iPod touch, or either of the iPads you can download Apple's latest and greatest mobile OS right now. That's right, all the fun new features like pull-down notifications, iCloud, iMessage, Find my Friends, Twitter integration and lock screen access to your camera will be at your disposal. Sadly you will not be getting a taste of Siri, which appears to a 4S only feature for now. Still, there's more than enough here to make it a worthy upgrade to your device. So, what are you waiting for? Go hit that update button now. Update: Just so you're aware, you'll need iTunes 10.5 installed to get the latest iOS. There's also an update to OS X coming down the pipes -- version 10.7.2 -- which officially delivers iCloud to your Mac. Huzzah! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
iCloud homepage is now live (updated)
Apple has unveiled the new iCloud homepage as of early this morning. Some users have reported that they were not able to access the iCloud service as of yet, but I was able to log in and navigate among the different apps. This could very well be a fluke, but the homepage does give iCloud users a sneak peek at the main layout of the site. Not all of the features are enabled yet, mostly the iWork apps because they require an update to the iOS apps that hasn't been pushed out yet. We will have an in-depth look at iCloud as the day goes on and more people are allowed to access the service. Update (3:30 a.m. ET): Some MobileMe users are saying that they are unable to access the migration feature as of yet.
iCloud opens to the masses, iOS 5 lurks near
Desktop or mobile access to Apple's iCloud will still require the absolute latest versions of OS X Lion and iOS 5 that haven't been officially released just yet, but you can get into the website right now. Line jumpers may have noticed the site opened up to all a few hours ago, and now the design has changed, dropping the beta tag for this more inviting storefront. Hit the source link below to check it out for yourself (we've got the full breakdown here), but have your Apple ID and password handy. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
iTunes 10.5.1 beta available for developers
A little more than an hour after the public release of iTunes 10.5, the beta of iTunes 10.5.1 with iTunes Match was pushed to developers. As commenters have noted, iTunes 10.5 disabled iTunes Match, so for developers who are testing the service, you'll want to head to the Apple Developer Center and grab the beta of iTunes 10.5.1. iTunes will most likely be updated to 10.5.1 when iCloud is formally released to the public on Wednesday.
Apple releases iTunes 10.5 with iTunes in the Cloud
As far as iTunes updates go this is a pretty big one -- version 10.5 brings with it what Apple's calling iTunes in the Cloud, which allows for automatic downloads of purchases to your Mac or Windows computers and all of your iOS devices, as well as the ability to download previous purchases on said devices as many times as you want. It's not exactly a traditional cloud-based service, but you do always have access to all of your purchased media, regardless of the device (so long as it runs some form of iTunes). As expected, it also finally adds WiFi syncing for your iOS devices, although you'll still have to wait a bit longer for the iTunes Match service -- it's slated to roll out closer to the end of the month. As usual, you can look for it in Apple's Software Update, or you can hit the link below to download it directly.
iTunes 10.5 is live (Updated)
Apple has released iTunes 10.5 via software update, the first release in a series leading up to the expected public release of iOS 5 on Wednesday. iTunes 10.5 introduces iCloud to the software along with automatic downloads. You can also download previous music, TV, app and book purchases again at no additional cost. Some previous purchases might not be available because they are no longer available through iTunes. It also adds Wi-Fi syncing, which automatically syncs an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iTunes any time they're both on the same Wi-Fi network, one of the key features of iOS 5. iTunes 10.5 is required to sync an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 5. iTunes 10.5 is a 60.9 MB download and is available through with Software Update or a direct download from Apple. Update: iTunes 10.5 is now available from Apple's site.
How iCloud works
During a recent edition of TUAW TV Live, the question of how iCloud works in applications came up. After some internal consultation, we came to the conclusion that Apple has fully announced this feature and that its workings would not be considered confidential. In that spirit, here's an introduction to iCloud's internals summarized from material in my upcoming iOS 5 Developer's Cookbook expanded edition. In its simplest form, iCloud is merely a special folder. It lives on the iOS device in /private/var/mobile/Library/Mobile Documents/. That folder hosts all application material that applications share to the cloud. Applications have partial permission to read from and write to this folder. That permission is developer-specific. As with the password keychain, developers can share cloud data between applications. For example, all apps developed by App Company X could share, view, and update the same document set. You cannot share data outside of your developer account. So my apps cannot see App Company X documents, and vice-versa. The Mobile Documents folder is monitored by iOS. When files are modified, the device automatically uploads changes to the cloud. Those changes propagate out to all other devices registered to the same account. This is handled by a local OS service, and applications aren't directly involved. Instead, applications subscribe to a variety of classes and notifications that allow them to know when changes occur. They can then resolve conflicts to bring local data into harmony with the iCloud versions. How developers do this is up to them. They may choose a "most recent change wins" strategy. Or they may combine changes in some other manner. It's the application's job to ensure that data presented on one unit matches the data on other units, so long as there is network communication available to handle that conformance. The tricky bits happen when a user drops out of communication. For example, you might edit a to-do list on a plane, when you have no net access, while your partner updates his or her to-do list in another city. Developers have worked for months on strategies for combining those changes and updating their documents to honor edits from both parties. In the end, there's very little in the way of iCloud APIs. It's really just a folder that is synchronized to offsite-storage. The trick will be how well developers think about different ways that distance, connection, and time can affect the way documents in that folder must adapt to user updates.
Daily Update for October 4, 2011: Special "Let's Talk iPhone" edition
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. Today, we bring you a special edition dedicated to news of the Apple "Let's Talk iPhone" event. You'll get all the highlights of today's announcements in just seven minutes. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Roundup of today's iPhone event coverage
Here's a summary of what happened today during Apple's iPhone event, with links you can follow to more in-depth coverage. You can check out Apple's keynote for yourself if you like, but our summary will probably go a lot quicker for you. Apple announces the iPhone 4S: The top story for today, Apple's next-gen iPhone is an all-internal upgrade that looks externally identical to the iPhone 4. The handset will be available for pre-order on October 7, and it launches in the US and a few other countries on October 14. As virtually everyone expected, the iPhone 4S will launch on Sprint in addition to AT&T and Verizon. Evidence on Apple's site suggests unlocked models will be available, but pricing info for contract-free handsets isn't available yet. The iPhone 4S has a faster A5 processor with much-improved graphics performance, improved battery and wireless performance, and a vastly improved 8 megapixel camera. Exclusive to the iPhone 4S is Siri, a new and powerful voice interface. Speaking of which... Apple (re)introduces Siri as iPhone voice control assistant for iPhone 4S: By far the biggest new feature announced today, Siri looks like it will revolutionize voice control on the iPhone. Siri is able to understand natural language inquiries and quickly look up information, generate appointments and text messages, and even take dictation. You may never need to type on your iPhone again. Reportedly the existing Siri app will go dark on October 15, so the service will definitely be exclusive to Apple's newest iPhone after that. iOS 5 available October 12: The iOS 5 "gold master" seed was released today to developers, and it will be available to everyone else on October 12. iOS 5 will be a free download that will run on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S; all models of iPad; and the third- and fourth-generation iPod touch. Apple's free replacement for MobileMe, iCloud, is also going live to everyone on October 12. Meanwhile, the App Store is now officially welcoming apps compatible with iOS 5. Apple refreshes iPod touch lineup with new colors: With the only apparent changes being a new white model and a price drop for the entry-level model, the iPod touch received only a very modest update today. No mention was made of the iPod touch being updated with the A5 processor, which marks the first time the line hasn't kept pace with the iPhone's processor. Apple refreshes iPod nano, lowers price: The iPod nano also received a very modest update; aside from new clock faces, integrated fitness functions, a slightly revamped UI, and a price drop, the nano is largely the same as last year's model. The new UI and clock faces appear to be available to 2010 model iPod nanos via a software update, so if you have last year's model already there doesn't appear to be any reason to upgrade. 8 GB iPhone 3GS now free with contract, iPhone 4 price dropped: You can now pick up Apple's two-year-old iPhone 3GS for free if you sign up for a two-year contract. That may sound like a great deal, but by 2013 the iPhone 3GS is probably going to seem like it's a UNIVAC. You're better off spending the extra $99 to get an iPhone 4 instead; it's the same capacity, but with a much-improved processor, Retina Display, and a far better camera. Sure, the iPhone 3GS is free, but in our opinion you get what you pay for with that model. Other new services and products: Apple announced a Find My Friends app that will work via iCloud, which should make stalking locating your friends much easier -- no more "I'm over by the thing, next to the other thing" directions. Another new app that had us alternately scratching our heads and cracking jokes: Cards will enable you to send photos to Apple, which it will then turn into postcards and mail out for you for a modest fee. To comply with EU standards, Apple will release a dock connector to micro USB adapter on October 14. Available on Apple's online UK store, it's relatively inexpensive at only £8. The sequel to Chair's hugely popular Infinity Blade will be released December 1. Infinity Blade 2 demonstrated the hugely improved graphical performance of the iPhone 4S -- I can't wait to see how this looks in person. Apple kicking butt, taking names: Apple's largest store in Asia had over 100,000 visitors in its opening weekend. OS X Lion has sold 6 million copies since its July 20 debut, 80 percent more than Snow Leopard. The iPhone 4 accounts for half of all iPhone sales, ever, and iPhones now account for 5 percent of worldwide handsets -- not just smartphones, all phones. iPads are "showing up everywhere," including 80 percent of US hospitals and 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies. Despite arguably stagnant features over the past couple years, the iPod still accounts for 70 percent of the portable music player market, and iTunes is the number one music store. The App Store has served more than 18 billion app downloads, with more than 500,000 total apps and 140,000 iPad-specific apps. To be honest, with the exception of Siri there doesn't seem to be much new and exciting coming out of Apple's event today. The iPhone 4S is, as the name implies, an iterative update to the (admittedly hugely successful) iPhone 4, while the iPod lineup has seen only very modest updates. Given Apple's massive success as of late, the company can afford to rest on its laurels for awhile -- but not for too long.
iCloud going live on October 12
Apple has announced that the long-awaited iCloud service will finally go live on October 12. The service will be free for Lion and iOS 5 users (the new mobile OS releases on the same day), and will enable cloud sharing of user contacts, pictures, and other pertinent user data across all of your Mac and iOS devices. Apple also went over iTunes Match functionality again, which will work in tandem with iCloud to deliver music to you directly from the iTunes store. For an extra fee ($24.99 a year), you can "match" any music in your library up to the tracks on iTunes servers, and then re-download those tracks as if you really owned them to any of your Mac or iOS devices. iTunes Match is set to go live with iCloud in the US on October 12, and then show up in the rest of the world later on this year. It's been a long wait, but Apple's full entry into the cloud is finally coming. Next week, we'll finally see for ourselves what iCloud has to offer.
Apple announces Find My Friends service
Apple has announced the much-rumored Find My Friends app. The app allows you to quickly see the location of friends who have opted to share their location with you. The app will offer deep levels of customization, such as letting users set a time window when they share their information. Also, at the end of the day, location sharing stops automatically and a person's location won't be shared again until they re-enable it. As to be expected with such a service, Apple has built in a number of privacy controls and parental restrictions. Find My Friends will work through Apple's iCloud service.
