The | Apple Inc. | Thread

White CZ4A · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:49 am Post subject:

^thanks man

SRASC · Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 4:34 pm Post subject:

Seemingly cementing a move first hinted at during the World Wide Developers Conference, Apple has filed for a trademark for its OS X operating system but without the "Mac" prefix that has accompanied the name since its inception.

The Cupertino-based company initially filed for its trademark in Trinidad and Tobago less than a week after the June 2008 conference, where lobby banners first indicated a split where Apple would distinguish between OS X Leopard, the version of its operating system for traditional computers, and OS X iPhone, the modified platform that supports both its namesake cellphone and the iPod touch.

The software label also passed through a southeast Asian trademark office in November, but as of this writing remains under review.

Apple's reasons for trademarking at this stage aren't entirely clear, though the most conspicuous is its current product strategy: as many of its devices are running some variant of the FreeBSD-based software but operating well outside the bounds of ordinary Macs, the company may be under some self-imposed pressure to rebrand its flagship software in a way that allows it to enforce its trademarks without tying itself to a particular software revision or product line.

A formality in trademark would also mirror steps to rebrand the company itself that were first reveled when chief executive Steve Jobs took to the stage to introduce the original iPhone in January 2007. With the Apple TV in the living room and the iPhone in people's pockets, the executive argued that it was time for the company to alter its name and drop the "Computer" badge to become Apple Inc., reflecting its new general technology focus.

An image accompanying the filings.

Still, the potential trademark change represents a formal break from tradition for a company that, in 1999, deliberately kept the "Mac OS" badge for its radically altered operating system to maintain familiarity -- a move the company may no longer feel is necessary today.

SRASC · Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:04 pm Post subject:

You can now have five columns of icons in your springboard via Cydia. Just add the SOS iPhone Source. (Available under the More Package Sources menu)

SRASC · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 11:45 pm Post subject:

One of the things I thought the iPhone would do off the bat was have the Clock application icon be animated reflecting the actual time. Of course, that was not the case, until now…
LiveTime simply does just that, animates the Clock application’s icon to reflect the actual time. Simple, neat.

Wolfie · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:55 am Post subject:

That's a cool one thx

SRASC · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:38 pm Post subject:

Reflective docks are now possible via Cydia. Just add http://david.ashman.com/apt/ to your sources in Cydia.

N.B. you would also see WeatherIcon added after adding the source. Do not download this as it crashes iPhones/iPod touches for whatever reason

Wolfie · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:55 pm Post subject:

FriendSync allows your iPhone to display your friend's Facebook profile pictures when they call.
http://www.4shared.com/file/81377946/fd55fcd/PictureSync.html

...
Guys check out this app it's really useful if you want to populate your phone contacts with their associated facebook pics. Saves a lot of time.

SRASC · Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:54 am Post subject:

Yesterday I wrote about the reflective dock (which is now available in case you didn’t know) by adding the http://david.ashman.com/apt repo to Cydia. The problem at the time was the also added WeatherIcon which crashed iPhones/iPod touches. Well it did anyway. It has since been upgraded so now the crashing issues are no longer there so long as you install version 1.1.1 or higher (1.2 was available at last check).
Its configuration, in a sense, is quite extensive. So this is where I’ll let AppleiPhoneSchool.com’s Brooke take over.
Note: This afternoon, I had an issue where when I selected the Weather Icon option in WinterBoard, it did not change the weather icon to a blank weather icon instead it added the new weather image and temp on top of my stock icon which looked absolutely terrible. If you are also having this issue, uninstall and reinstall the app in Cydia. Example screenshot below.

Ok, now, there are a few catches. When the app is not activated in WinterBoard, it adds a ? on top of your weather icon. The only way to get rid of the ? is to always have the app activated or to uninstall it. Example screenshot below.

The other catch…the app does not automatically detect your current location, you will need to change the zip code in the .plist to your current zip code. If you are comfortable with ssh, this is an easy thing to do. Below are instructions.

1. Find the file Library/Themes/Weather Icon.theme/Bundles/com.apple.springboard/com.ashman.WeatherIcon.plist on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

2. Open the com.ashman.WeatherIcon.plist file. Below is what it will look like.

SRASC · Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:20 pm Post subject:

it is problematic in my opinion & did cause some problems for me to get back to the SpringBoard

SRASC · Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:24 pm Post subject:

Freelander · Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:26 pm Post subject:

im having probs with the live clock, the original clock is still displayed under the animated one:S

SRASC · Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:29 pm Post subject:

SRASC · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 5:00 pm Post subject:

MeDevil has posted a video demonstrating the first file transfer between an iPhone and a PC using Bluetooth.

Google Translation:
The version you see on video is not yet complete because the profiles implement only the “server” (the one that deals with the receipt). To complete the app you need to finish the part on the client profile obex push and complete the profile pbap that the exchange of contacts between the devices. After these profiles, the application will be in beta-testing and when it is certain that the application is running, will be released through the repository of iSpazio on Cydia. The date of issue is to be determined, however, and avoid asking for email or in comments will happen when.

TURBOT · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 8:20 pm Post subject:

Great news for iPod 2g owners
The jailbreak for it may be coming out sooner than you think. It is rumoured to actully be Sunday 25th . The dev team doesn't want to give a def date after what happened with yellow snow. I think the name of it is redsnow. Check the dev team blog for more info

TURBOT · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:02 am Post subject:

for those who loved fantastic contraption. There is now the game for your iPhone !!!!! Included is all 43 levels Shocked

.... One more thing to rob me of my time .

SRASC · Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:39 am Post subject:

Apple last week was awarded a monstrous 358-page patent covering the touch screen, graphical user interface, and methods that combine to define the iPhone user experience.

Dating back to September of 2007 and granted last Tuesday, U.S. Patent No. 7479949 lists many inventors; notably, Apple co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs, iPhone software director Scott Forstall, and FingerWorks co-founder Wayne Westerman. (FingerWorks was responsible for gadgets with an opaque surface that could respond to gesture controls before being acquired by Apple to aid its multi-touch efforts several years ago.)

The filing is essentially a summary and overview of all the technologies that come together in the iPhone. In the patent, Apple claims coverage for the device itself, the way gestures like pinches and zooms are detected, and the software the device runs. Also mentioned are many other different details and aspects of the multi-touch user interface, such as a finger swipe, a two-thumb twist, and a method of determining which object was intended when a touch seems to cover both.

Apple interim chief executive Tim Cook recently promised to aggressively pursue any company or person who “rips off” Apple’s intellectual property, and this patent affords the Cupertino-based iPhone maker the footing it would need to mount any such defense.

In detail
In setting a tone for the filing, Apple described how portable phones received more and more pushbuttons to control new features, but the inability to adapt the input methods to match the application running is a problem. Thus, a touchscreen device is a better choice; however, gestures can be difficult to interpret or translate into the commands the user actually wants the device to perform.

Click for full-size.

“Accordingly, there is a need for touch-screen-display electronic devices with more transparent and intuitive user interfaces,” the filing reads. These improved devices can take input and interpret it as “precise, intended commands that are easy to use, configure, and/or adapt. Such interfaces increase the effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction with portable multifunction devices.”

Click for full-size.

Future features?
There are also some interesting aspects of the filing that may hint at future plans for the iPhone and iPod, such as “a blogging application” and “a digital video camera application” — both of which have been mentioned in previous coverage of the patent. Similarly, voice-activated dialing could someday be a feature, as the document refers to audio circuitry that “converts the electrical signal [from human sound waves] to audio data and transmits the audio data to the peripherals interface for processing.”
Apple mentions a touchpad for activating or deactivating functions. The patent describes it as a “touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the touch screen or an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.”

Interestingly, this is a feature Palm is already touting about its upcoming Pre handset. According to Palm’s press release: “[The Pre has a] gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation.” The gesture area is separate from the touch screen.

Final Observations
Along with covering the iPhone, the patent filing is notable for referencing 40 other existing patents, and for naming Jobs first among its inventors. Its granted status was first reported Monday by WorldOfApple.

Wolfie · Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:28 pm Post subject:

I've been messing around with tcp settings on osx to get the wifi running faster and have gotten some good performance boosts.

Howto in terminal:

touch /etc/sysctl
nano -l /etc/sysctl

mitch · Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 4:11 pm Post subject:

Apple releases iPhone Software v2.2.1

Apple on Tuesday afternoon released iPhone Software version 2.2.1, a maintenance and stability release that improves performance in mobile Safari and corrects issues with photos saved from Mail.

For iPhone

More specifically, Apple said the 246.4MB update:

* Improves the general stability of Safari.

* Fixes an issue where some images saved from Mail do not display correctly in the Camera Roll.

For iPod touch

A similar version of the software update available to iPod touch owners includes both of the aforementioned improvements in addition to correcting an issue that caused some Apple Lossless (ALAC) to skip during playback.

iPhone Software 2.2.1 is compatible with the iPhone 3G and the original iPhone, while iPhone Software 2.2.1 for iPod touch is compatible with both the first and generation of the touch-screen media player.

Wolfie · Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 4:21 pm Post subject:

Wonder if they changed the baseband Mr. Green

SRASC · Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:53 pm Post subject:

Various clues on the next version of the iPhone are being collected that point to a major architectural overhaul that could bring dramatically improved graphics performance to Apple's popular smartphone.

Recently, the new hardware identity string "iPhone 2,1" began turning up within the logs of an iPhone software analytics tool as well as the recent iPhone 2.1.1 firmware. The label identifies a new hardware version that hasn't yet shipped.

A blog posting published by Pinch Media reported that the company's Pinch Analytics software detected some "iPhone 2,1" devices as early as the first part of October 2008. The units continued to appear in its logs sporadically until mid-December when the sighting began to accelerate. Geolocation tracking shows the devices are "almost exclusively located" in the south San Francisco Bay Area where Apple is located, and the company says the units report making connections both over WiFi and AT&T's cellular network.

Pinch Media sells services to iPhone app developers and maintains a set of free analytics tools that report activity from phone units running the apps of participating software makers. Their services do not detect display resolution or any other details. The new hardware label is unlikely to identify a new product category such as a tablet however, as Apple typically changes its internal string name entirely when creating a different product.

Apple's String Identifiers

The original iPhone was internally referenced as "iPhone 1,1" while last year's iPhone 3G identified itself as being "iPhone 1,2." While the latest iPhone version sported major new features including 3G and GPS, more RAM, as well as an entirely new case design, it did not use a significantly different processor and chipset architecture.

Apple's internal naming conventions for Mac desktops, notebooks, and Apple TV follows a similar numbering system, indicating a major revision number when the hardware architecture is updated to use a new processor or system chipset, but only incrementing the minor revision number when a new model is merely an update of the same basic design.

For example, Apple's MacBook Pro notebooks were assigned a major revision number (such as "MacBookPro4,1" to "MacBookPro5,1") with the change to a new processor architecture (Core Duo to Core 2 Duo), an increase in processor speed associated with a new chip family (Merom to Perym), or a complete change in the design of similar magnitude.

What's next for IPhone?

While it should come as no surprise that Apple would be working on a new iPhone, the new version number appears to signal a major architectural overhaul for Apple's mobile smartphone that is more significant than last year's iPhone 3G. This could include the use of customized "System on a Chip" components developed by Apple, using ARM processor cores and incorporating new PowerVR video and graphics processing core designs developed by Imagination Technologies.

Last December, Apple was officially cited as a licensee of Imagination Technologies' latest PowerVR mobile graphics technology, which would enable the company to develop state-of-the-art custom silicon for future iPhone and iPods at its recently acquired PA Semi fabless chip design lab.

Creating its own custom parts would enable the company to differentiate its mobile hardware further, while also leveraging software technologies such as Grand Central and OpenCL to accelerate media processing using hardware specifically optimized for parallel, multicore execution.

While initially developed for Mac OS X Snow Leopard, OpenCL on mobile devices could enable a new range of applications that demand high processing performance, from voice recognition to video processing. Highly efficient rendering would also help Apple to push ahead its efforts to enter the mobile handheld gaming arena with both the iPhone and iPod touch.

Fuzz Master · Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:25 am Post subject:

SRASC · Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:39 pm Post subject:

The Wall Street Journal is weighing in on Dell's rumored smartphone offering, adding further weight to rumors predicting the PC maker will enter the arena to take on Apple's iPhone.

Citing sources familiar with Dell's plans, the financial paper reported the Round Rock, Texas-based company has an office in the Chicago area where a group of engineers have been working on the phone "for more than a year."

"They produced prototypes built on Google Inc.'s Android operating system and Microsoft's Windows Mobile software," said the report.

One model has a touchscreen with no physical keyboard, like the iPhone. Another is a slider-style phone with a keypad that slides out from beneath the screen, like the Pre. The report also notes Dell's recent hiring of two former Motorola employees.

"We haven't committed to anything," a Dell spokesman told the Journal, which concluded Dell hasn't finalized its plans and could still give up the effort without releasing a device.

Meanwhile, Kaufman Brothers' analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a research note released to clients today that the news is consistent with his supply chain checks and his own comments from earlier this month, predicting an entrance into the cell phone market for Dell as soon as mid-February.

Dell might make its announcement at the GSMA Mobile World Congress event (formerly 3GSM) in Barcelona, Wu said.

"We believe it makes sense for Dell and other PC makers to pursue more aggressive strategies in the smart phone space," Wu wrote. "We believe smart phones are moving upstream into the notebook space. Dell is the latest PC vendor to enter the market...So far, only Apple has made material inroads."

The analyst reiterated his warning that Dell will need to stand out from the crowded market in order to succeed, recommending the company use its own operating system because "most of the other players use the same software, including Windows Mobile, Symbian, and/or Google Android, leaving little room for innovation."

Dell, like Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm and the anticipated yet unreleased Palm Pre, faces a formidable opponent in the iPhone 3G. Last quarter saw the Apple device outsell the Storm four-to-one.

Since going on sale last summer, the iPhone 3G has sold more than 4.3 million units in the United States. Recent signs also point to a major update to the iPhone in June, possibly making it that much more difficult for any competitor to gain headway in the sector.

The Wall Street Journal also reported Hewlett-Packard is selling phones in Europe with an automatic backup feature, while Acer is planning to join Lenovo in the smartphone marketplace as well. Together, the iPhone and BlackBerry control 70% of the U.S. market.

This is a critical time for Dell to find a "hit", as the company is losing PC market share, including a 0.9 percent year-over-year decline last quarter. Shares of the company's stock have fallen 60 percent since August.

Wolfie · Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:58 pm Post subject:

Their only hope lies with Android and a hell of a hardware platform.

SRASC · Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 3:37 pm Post subject:

SRASC · Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:59 pm Post subject:

Updated 2.2.1? What works & what doesn't?

SRASC · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 1:17 pm Post subject:

SRASC · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:59 pm Post subject:

QuickPwn for Windows (version 2.2.5-2) has been updated to work with the latest 2.2.1 firmware.

You can dowload the official torrent here.

It offers support for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 2G, and the iPod Touch 1G.

SRASC · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 6:10 pm Post subject:

Digital Film Tools has released Light 1.2, an iPhone application that can add realistic lighting and shadow to photos.

Light and shadow is introduced using digital versions of the gobo library created by Gamproducts. Gobos (patterns) are widely used by lighting designers in theatre, film/TV and photography to enhance the visual impact of their lighting. Normally used in front of lights during photography, gobos can be applied to the entire image or inside a selected area using Light. Gobos from the Gamproducts collection are arranged into the following categories: Breakups, Foliage, Lights, Sky and Windows.

Features:
- Control light brightness, blurring, and displacement for light wrapping effects
- Adjust light position, rotation and size with on-screen controls
- Isolate light using the selection screen
- Position slider determines where to put the light
- Range slider selects the amount of light
- Lum (Luminance), Hue, or Sat (Saturation) buttons change the selection method
- Shake on the Gobo screens to choose a random gobo
- Shake on the image editing screen to reset controls
- Edit in portrait or landscape mode

SRASC · Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:02 pm Post subject:

Once thought to be building Flash for the iPhone mostly on its own, Adobe has mentioned at the World Economic Forum that it's not only continuing work on the animation plug-in but has teamed up with Apple to make it a reality.

In an interview with Bloomberg at the Davos, Switzerland event, Adobe chief Shantanu Narayen describes development as a complicated two-way process rather than maintaining the previous image of a one-sided effort that would depend on App Store approval before it could launch.

"It’s a hard technical challenge, and that’s part of the reason Apple and Adobe are collaborating," he says. "The ball is in our court. The onus is on us to deliver."

What hurdles Adobe has to overcome aren't mentioned by the executive, though the company's long porting process has underscored the difficulty involved. Narayen had said that he was "pleased with progress" as far back as June of last year -- just three months after the iPhone SDK made native third-party apps an option on the touchscreen device.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has maintained since nearly a year ago that the real obstacle is the nature of Flash itself. While desktop Flash is too resource-heavy for the small processor and low memory of smartphones like the iPhone, Jobs has warned that Flash Lite is too feature-limited and doesn't do many of the things users expect Flash to do -- such as playing video on the web or showing complex animations on websites.

Most Flash Lite implementations actually depend on an app that runs entirely outside of the web browser and are often based on older versions of Flash that limit their performance and feature set; Jobs has argued for a "product in the middle" that does more.

Whether or not the collaborative process involves working on that app is very much a mystery, but it may be necessary for Flash to appear in Apple's preferred form, as third-party iPhone apps aren't allowed to serve as plugins based on the iPhone SDK's guidelines.

And in the meantime, the cellphone maker has publicly advocated HTML 5 as a replacement and is collaborating with fellow browser developers Mozilla and Opera to perform many of the same functions of Flash but in a more universal and less resource-hungry standard.

SRASC · Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 11:14 am Post subject: