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Talkcast tonight, 4pm HI/7pm PDT/10pm EDT: Memorial Weekend Edition!
Happy Memorial Day Weekend, kids! I've checked and double checked and it's Talkcast time! Since you're most likely off tomorrow, you have no excuse not to stay up late and join me for this week's Talkcast! We'll be spending a bit of time discussing the Lodsys Kerfuffle, developments on the current and future editions of Mac OS, and of course we'll be paying a visit to my house to discuss the latest on another operating system, iOS 5. Remember: When Kelly hosts the show, it means we have an aftershow! TUAWTF covers all manner of topics. Come for the show, stay for the aftershow. Your calls and questions help make the show the best it can be, otherwise I'm just talking to myself! To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Blink or X-Lite SIP clients, basic instructions are here. (If you like Blink, the pro version is available in the Mac App Store.) Skype users with SkypeOut credit can call the main Talkshoe number; it's also a free call with the Google Voice browser plugin. Talk to you tonight!
Latest build of Mac OS X 10.6.8 hints at Lion upgrade path through Mac App Store
Yesterday we told you that Apple released a third build of Mac OS X 10.6.8 to developers. At the time there were no known issues with the build and developers were asked to focus on AirPort, Networking, Graphics Drivers, QuickTime, VPN, and the Mac App Store. Now it turns out that the Mac App Store may be the biggest component of that 10.6.8 upgrade. German site fscklog was the first to point out that the release notes for the 10.6.8 build specifically notes that this point upgrade to Lion will "Enhance the Mac App Store to get your Mac ready to upgrade to Mac OS X Lion." The release notes all but confirm that Apple will be pushing the Mac App Store as the primary upgrade mechanism for Mac users. Also, if 10.6.8 is released before WWDC, which starts on June 6, it could be a signal that Apple is set to release Mac OS X 10.7 Lion sooner than most people expect -- which is something we've heard they might do. [via Electronista]
Rumor: Lion near to going live
Trusted sources tell TUAW that OS X 10.7 Lion has gone live for internal Apple testing as recently as last week. An internal testing release generally indicates that Lion is near to a real world debut. This suggests the new OS might possibly ship as early as WWDC with an "available today" mention at the keynote -- or it might not (keeping in mind that Apple has previously cited "Summer 2011" as the launch window for Lion, which doesn't begin until June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere). But Lion is looking to be one step closer to availability for Apple customers.
No more iSync in Lion
Hey, you remember iSync, right? You there, with the RAZR, you remember iSync? I remember using iSync to somewhat handily sync my contacts and calendars way back in the dark ages when phones had monochrome screens and most iPods had spinning plates inside them. Then, one day, it quit working and joined the long list of "applications time and Victor forgot." Well, goodbye, iSync, we barely used ye. Lion users are telling us that iSync is nowhere to be found in Apple's next OS, along with FrontRow, Java runtime and Rosetta (as AppleInsider reported earlier this year). One wonders if a better solution will take its place (MobileMe?), or if Apple felt it was legacy cruft needing to go. What's next on the chopping block, Grapher?
Dear Aunt TUAW: Will Lion ship on disc?
Dear Aunt TUAW, I keep reading about how Lion is most likely to be distributed through the Mac App Store. I think this is great, and a huge convenience. I see how this would work for upgrading, but what happens if you have to wipe your computer and reinstall it? If you have no disk, how can you boot from it? It would be a rather large pain to boot from Snow Leopard and then reinstall Lion after logging into the Mac App Store and re-downloading Lion again. I was wondering what your thoughts were. Love, Your Nephew Andrew Q
Rundown of new changes in Lion Developer Preview 3
In addition to the discovery of Nuance voices in Lion Developer Preview 3, other new features found in the latest Lion release have begun to leak out. As compiled by It's All Tech, here is a list of all the other known changes Lion Developer Preview 3 offers over previous versions. New options in Mission Control System Preferences There is a new animation when logging into the computer and displaying the desktop New Reminders menu in iCal New "next desktop" button in Dashboard space New options when right-clicking ("Show Inspector," "Clean up," and "Sort" commands) Compatibility to external displays has been improved (especially in Mission Control) There is now a Mission Control app Finder's toolbar has been slightly updated Desktop wallpapers have been updated (and new ones have been added -- the lion image above is one of them) Reading List has been enabled in Safari New changes in Mission Control: Users can add "desktops" right from Mission Control by clicking "+" button. Users can close spaces from Mission Control. Mission Control no longer displays text "Desktop 1,″ etc. When hovering over desktop thumbnails, magnification of thumbnails are seen Scrollbars now change color depending on the background (black background=light scrollbar and vice versa) In addition to the above changes, TUAW reader Koobi wrote to tell us of another change he found: "In Lion, on Safari, using the Magic Mouse, if you use one finger and flick left to right, it will reveal (underneath) your previously viewed page history. You can flick back and forth to browse your Safari history, without having to press the back/forward buttons at the tool bar." In the comments below, feel free to let us know of any other changes you find!
Nuance voices found in Lion Developer Preview 3
Yesterday, we told you that Apple had seeded Lion Developer Preview 3 to developers. We noted at the time that among the new features in Developer Preview 3 were a new boot animation, new graphical elements in the Finder's toolbar, new desktop wallpapers and that Reading List is now enabled in Safari. Other details of the latest Lion preview have emerged, but perhaps the most important is that Nuance voices, shown in the image above, have been discovered in the OS itself. Nuance is, of course, rumored to have entered into a major partnership with Apple for its speech recognition technology being incorporated into iOS 5. But now it appears Apple is going to be pushing speech recognition as a feature across all of its operating systems. As discovered by NetPuting, a quick check of Lion's speech preferences finds that a number of voices from Nuance's RealSpeak Solo software are now integrated directly into Mac OS X Lion. Earlier today an Apple patent emerged describing a way Nuance-like speech recognition software could be used in iOS to help make it easier for iPhone users to communicate in loud or quiet environments.
Apple Releases Lion Developer Preview 3
Hot on the heels of the Mac OS X 10.6.8 build Apple seeded to developers earlier today, Lion Developer Preview 3 was seeded to all developers. Though the update shows up in Lion's Software Update as "Lion Developer Preview Update" it is not a fourth update of Lion Developer Preview 2, but is a completely new version 3 build. All Software Update says about the new 1.07 GB build is that "The Lion Developer Preview Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 2." However, MacStories has confirmed that some of the new features in Developer Preview 3 include a new boot animation, new graphical elements in the Finder's toolbar, new desktop wallpapers and that Reading List is now enabled in Safari.
10.7 Lion upgrades expected to come via Mac App Store
It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the Mac App Store is likely to be the preferred method for installing and updating OS X 10.7 Lion. AppleInsider reports that the next version of Mac OS X is going to ship digitally via the MAS, with optical media available as a backup for users on slow connections. This approach solves the thorny issue faced by MacBook Air owners of upgrading the OS, and also keeps with Apple's theme of moving away from physical media as its primary means of distribution and eventually eliminating optical drives on most of its machines. Will this mean that Lion will forsake disc-based distribution completely? Not entirely. There are still plenty of people willing to hand Apple money for a disc-based OS upgrade, and the company wouldn't turn this revenue source down. AI's source tells them that a disc will be available for those without broadband or who don't want to use the Mac App Store. I fully expect Apple also to offer USB drives with Lion on them for sale, just like the ones included with MacBook Airs with Snow Leopard on them. I'm surprised that they're not selling them now for Snow Leopard, actually. What Apple will most likely do is charge a premium for buying physical media -- akin to what happens now with Aperture. Aperture through the Apple retail site is $199, but it's $79.99 on the Mac App Store. The price difference will probably be big enough that it will nudge a good many users toward buying Lion via the Mac App Store. I expect that by Mac OS X 10.8 in a couple of years, disc distribution of Mac OSes will disappear completely.
New downloads window coming to Safari in Lion
A few days ago it was discovered that Apple is building in a new feature to Safari called Reading List. The feature works like Instapaper and allows users to save web pages for later viewing. Now Italian Mac site Melamorsicata.it has discovered another tweak set for Safari v. 5.1 in Lion -- a revision of the downloads window. As you can see in the image above, Safari now sports a downloads button next to the Google search field (this button's location is presumably changeable, as are all Safari toolbar buttons). When you have an active download in progress, the button will show a blue progress bar, ala the progress bar found on app icons when you are downloading and installing them on an iOS device. Clicking on the downloads button will bring up a new pop-up menu that displays all current and past downloads. This isn't an earth shattering feature, but it will make it easier for novice users who aren't familiar with calling up the downloads window to find it.
Mac OS X Lion to feature iOS-like 'jiggling' app unistaller
New features of Mac OS X Lion are slowly leaking out after the last Lion Developer Preview was released. The latest find, noticed by AppleiGuide.co.uk, is a built-in uninstaller function, reminiscent of the way you remove apps in iOS. The Lion app uninstaller works through Launchpad, Mac OS X's app launcher "home screen" layer. When Launchpad is displayed, a user can click and hold the mouse cursor on an app's icon; after a brief pause, all the app icons will begin jiggling. An X will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the icons, and clicking it will cause a dialog pop-up to appear asking the user, "Are you sure you want to delete the application?" Clicking Delete will move the app and any associated files to the Trash. Currently, this uninstall feature only works with apps purchased through the Mac App Store. New Mac users are commonly confused about how to delete Mac apps. Coming from a PC, they are used to uninstallers and don't realize that one can (usually) simply drag any app to the Trash to delete it. The new uninstall feature in Lion is another sign that Apple wants to take the simplicity of iOS and apply it to the Mac in hopes of making OS X more familiar and intuitive to anyone using a Mac for the first time. [Thanks, Sam]
Rumor: Evidence for a Castle in the 'iCloud' for Lion
French blog Consomac sent us a heads-up that they've done a bit of digging in the current developer preview, searching for further evidence of the suggested Find My Mac feature in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and the fabled iCloud domain name. What they found was fascinating. In searching through Lion's strings for references to Find My Mac, iCloud or MobileMe, they came up with the localized strings seen in the image: "Complete your Castle upgrade," and "Click OK to open System Preferences and complete your upgrade from MobileMe to Castle." Now, as much as we'd love to see Apple's email, calendar and cloud storage offering converted into an ABC romcedural starring the delightfully geeky Nathan Fillion, that might not go over so well with everyone. As Consomac's post suggests, the likeliest explanation for this string set is that 'Castle' is a code name for the next-generation online service offering from Apple. Said online service, naturally, is what we suspect the iCloud domain will be used for in the next OS version -- and chances are we'll see it in action at WWDC. Thanks to Sylvain for the tip.
Dashboard: Irrelevant in the age of iOS or gaining new life in Lion?
The blogging crew here at TUAW headquarters frequently gets inspiration from emails that we receive from developers and hardware manufacturers. As a perfect example, the inbox the other morning contained some information about an upcoming iOS app that syncs to a Dashboard widget. Fellow blogger Erica Sadun said she wouldn't touch the app, since "Dashboard causes me to break out in hives," and Kelly Guimont asked "does anyone use the Dashboard for anything?" That got a lively discussion going on behind the scenes about whether or not Dashboard is even relevant anymore. As an Apple consultant, I can't tell you how many times I've been asked the question "What's that little speedometer icon for?" by new Mac owners who were afraid to click the Dashboard icon in the Dock. When I've shown those clients what Dashboard is all about, they seem underwhelmed. For me, I haven't used Dashboard since I set up my 27" iMac last year. Kelly mentioned that she has a delivery tracker and the Apple Remote Desktop widget installed, but that she "has yet to use" the latter. Most of the blogging team echoed those sentiments.
Apple scraps iOS-like slider tabs in latest Mac OS X Lion build
Hear that? It's a big sigh of relief from Mac users everywhere. In the latest Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Preview Developer Build, Apple has scrapped the switch/slider tabs that were borrowed UI elements from iOS. As you can see from the image above, Apple has chosen to move away from the Aqua interface of Snow Leopard (and previous versions of OS X) and moved towards a more toned-down appearance. When Lion Developer Preview 2 was released, Apple replaced Aqua tabs with slider tabs. For example, in the second tab bar above, when the user clicked on "General," the white tab over "Privacy" would slide over to "General." This UI element can be found in many app settings in iOS (think of the familiar "ON/OFF" switches). Many developers felt the switch tabs were confusing for users, and it seems that Apple has listened to them. In the third build, Apple has gone back to the depressed tab functionality (the last tab bar in the image above). I guess Apple found out that just because something looks cool and works well in iOS doesn't necessarily mean the UI element should be translated to the desktop.
Mac OS X Lion feature 'Reading List' to compete with Instapaper and ReadItLater
MacRumors has discovered a new Safari feature that will compete with Instapaper and ReadItLater in the latest Mac OS X Lion Developer build. The feature, called Reading List, allows users to save web pages for later reading. It's represented in the toolbar by the eyeglasses icon to the right. Currently the feature is inactive, but Apple does offer a description of it: "Reading List lets you collect webpages and links for you to read later. To add the current page to your Reading List, click Add Page. You can also Shift-click a link to quickly add it to the list. To hide and show Reading List, click the Reading List icon (eyeglasses) in the bookmarks bar." As MacRumors points out, Apple's implementation looks to be partly based on HTML/js, which off the bat wouldn't allow for synchronization between devices. However, if Apple plans on adding the popular functions of services like Instapaper and ReadItLater into Safari, it's very likely that they will add syncing features as Safari for Mac OS X and iOS are tightly integrated. The image below shows you how items will be displayed in your Reading List.
Apple seeds third build of Lion Developer Preview 2
Apple has seeded a new build of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion to developers today. The build, labeled version number 11A444d, can be downloaded through Software Update for those of you running previous Lion builds. The update weighs in at 1.22 GB. This is the third release of Lion Developer Preview 2, and as Apple doesn't list any details about the latest fixes and changes incorporated into it, it is likely that there are no major changes since the release of the second build of of Lion Developer Preview 2 two weeks ago. Let us know in the comments if you spot anything worth noting.
Amazon Germany lists Mac OS X 10.7 Lion on DVD
A blog called Apple Bitch points to an Amazon Germany listing of Mac OS X 10.7, which says the Lion OS will ship on a DVD format. This hints that the update may actually be available as a more traditional DVD purchase, instead of the all-digital Mac App Store download that the preview was released as. Then again, this could just be a default listing for the software, which is set to become available later this year. The US Amazon listing doesn't mention a DVD format at all, instead promising that the page will sell Lion if and when it becomes available in the store. Though the Mac App Store is clearly the future for Apple's distribution of its software, if Lion were only a MAS download, Apple would be excluding many Macs that could run it. Why? Lion is set to require an Intel Mac with a Core 2 Duo processor or higher. There are many Macs which match those specs that are still running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Since the Mac App Store requires 10.6.6 or higher, having Lion as MAS download only would eliminate a lot people from upgrading to Lion, even though their machines would be more than capable of running it. So those of you who have never updated to Snow Leopard on your Core 2 Duo Macs need not worry, you'll still be able to upgrade to Lion the old fashioned way. However, you'll want to make sure you do, as I'm willing to bet Lion will be the last OS available on optical media.
Mac OS X Lion sporting 1024x1024 icons, 3200x2000 wallpapers; Retina display Macs coming?
MacMagazine.com.br has posted an interesting find. Apparently the latest build of Lion includes some icons which are sized at 1024x1024. That's twice the current 512x512 size of icons in Snow Leopard (four times the pixel count, but 2x larger in each dimension). Additionally, on April 2nd, Mac blog OSXDaily found some of the default wallpaper resolutions in Lion to be as large as 3200×2000 pixels. These wallpaper and icon size increases are interesting because, as far as the wallpaper resolution goes, Apple currently does not make a display that supports that high of a pixel density. Given the fact that Apple is bumping up its icon and wallpaper sizes, it could point to a future where Macs sport high-density Retina displays. Indeed, MacRumors points out that Apple has built in support for HiDPI display modes in Lion. "These HiDPI modes allow developers to supply 2x-enlarged images to support double-high resolution displays," according to MacRumors. "Like the iPhone 4's Retina Display, this means that user interface elements will remain the same size, but everything will be twice the resolution and, therefore, twice as detailed."
Preview app in Lion will act as Word, Excel, PowerPoint viewer
Mac OS X's Preview app has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a PDF viewer. AppleInsider reports that in the latest build of Lion, Preview has received a UI overhaul and added some pretty cool new features. For example, Preview will act as a Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint viewer. This is one of the smartest things Apple could have done. How many times have you sent a PowerPoint file to someone only to get an email back saying they didn't know how to open it (happens all the time with my friend's grandparents)? Now when anyone running Mac OS X 10.7 Lion receives an Excel or PowerPoint file, the file will automatically open in Preview if they don't have Office or iWork installed. Of course, they won't be able to edit the Microsoft docs in Preview, but they will be able to view them just like they can view PDFs. Word docs can open in Preview as a viewable file too, but by default they will still open in TextEdit as an editable document. Other additions to Preview include Full Screen mode; monochromatic, square toolbar buttons; a magnifier loupe tool (like the kind you find in Aperture); expanded PDF annotation tools (including filled text and speech and thought bubbles); and the ability to scan your signature in the Preview app so you can use it to digitally sign documents. I don't know about you, but I always look forward to OS X upgrades not so much for the big features, but for the continued refinements to the OS and its apps as a whole. Judging by the way Lion is shaping up, it won't disappoint.
TUAW Talkcast tonight: Lion features and more
There's nothing quite like Sunday night around TUAW-land. Many of us who participate regularly in the Talkcast look forward to this night as the time we can get together with our friends and talk about our passion -- Apple products. Tonight we'll turn our opinionated mouths to the next cat from Apple, Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" and some of the anticipated features that we're now beginning to hear about. Whether it's Launchpad, full-screen apps, the new iOS-like Mail app, Mission Control, the new Multi-Touch gestures, AirDrop or any of the other features we've heard about, we'll discuss it. We'll also tackle the news of the week plus your questions and comments -- and if there's time afterward, there's always the TUAWTF aftershow (never recorded, often regretted). To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the TalkShoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 PM EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (yay for free cell phone weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Blink or X-Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here (if you like Blink, the pro version is available in the Mac App Store). Talk to you tonight.
