Mactalk.com.au - Australia's favourite Apple forum, blog and podcast.

In case you missed it, MacTalk have a big ol’ roundup of Apple’s music event just below this post!

RazorianFly describe a disturbing trend with iOS apps – no, it’s not the fact that apps are being removed from the store upon discovery that they have secret features, it’s the fact that once paid-for apps are now becoming free, but ad-supported.

Plex/Nine was released a couple of days ago for all your media centre needs, and there’s a in-depth post on the Plex blog detailing just what the update encompasses in terms of architecture.

Of all the Mac titles available on Steam so far, one in particular is conspicuously absent. No, I’m not talking about any of the lesser-known Source-based games, I’m talking about the Left 4 Dead series.

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Event came and went, with a live video stream that had some niggles, but overall, was great to have back – please do it again for every keynote Apple! Here’s a rundown of what we saw happen for those that decided to stay in bed.

iOS 4.1 available next week for iPhone & iPod touch

• Fixed bugs (proximity sensor)
• HDR/auto bracketing in camera app
• Game Centre now public
• released next week

Cool demo of the Unreal engine ported to iOS

• licensing out the engine to others
• Epic making their own iOS games

iOS 4.2 brings iOS 4 to iPad – November

• Wireless printing
• HDR to iPad (what? iPad must be getting a camera hey guys?)
• AirPlay (works in combo with AppleTV)
• All devices to get iOS 4.2 in November, places iPad in sync with iPhone and iPod touch

New iPod shuffle

• People missed the buttons
• 2GB – A$69
• tiny version of the previous generation shuffle

New iPod nano

• now touch based
• nike+, FM radio, pedometer
• basically an iPod shuffle with a touch screen
• possibly running iOS – no 3rd party apps though
• Steve Jobs mentioned that it can be worn as a watch
• 240-by-240-pixel resolution, 220 pixels per inch
• no longer plays back video, no video camera
• 8GB -A$199, 16GB – A$229

New iPod touch

• very thin
• Retina display
• back & front facing camera & FaceTime & HD video recording
• A4-based CPU
• gyroscope
• pretty much an iPhone 4, without a 3G radio
• 8GB – A$289, 32GB – A$378, 64GB – A$499

All iPods available next week

• iPod classic still lives

New Version of iTunes – iTunes 10

• new logo after 10 years
• new user interface
• Ping – a music social network built in to iTunes
• out now

New AppleTV

• small, HDMI, ethernet & wi-fi, the latest Apple remote (the silver stick thing Apple currently makes)
• no purchases on Apple TV, no storage
• SD movie rentals start A$3.99 and HD rentals start at A$4.99 – new releases $6.99 (HD)
• US99c for HD TV show rentals (ABC & Fox)
• Netflix built in (useless for Australians)
• new remote app for iOS lets you control AppleTV
• stream content from iTunes, just like current AppleTV
• play movies from iPad/iPhone/iPod touch direct to AppleTV over wi-fi
• still only 720p
• runs off an ARM CPU (Apple A4)
• A$129 for the new AppleTV
• 4 weeks until release – preorder now

Chris Martin from Coldplay closed the show

• “I wish the rest of the band was here, but they’re too lazy”
• Wore a Flaming Lips t-shirt

This week we look at Vodafone’s solution to custom contacts on the iPhone, and a hugely popular iPhone game translated to the more expansive and opportunistic iPad.

Who2Call

Contrary to popular belief, the iPhone has not killed off the carrier-exclusive app. Rather, the App Store makes it far easier for local networks to distribute software without being intrusive. AT&T have done it in the U.S. with their mark the spot app, which allows users to report weak signal strength in certain areas. Here in Australia, we have App Land, an initiative from Vodafone Hutchinson, who’s developers have created a series of social networking apps (one for posting to multiple networks and another for broadcasting music currently playing) and a contact searching utility called Who2Call, the subject of today’s review.

With Who2Call, VHA (Vodafone Hutchinson Australia) matches local contacts with those on their servers to find out which are on the Vodafone or Three carriers. Then, it shows those who are in a contact display with an icon indicating the carrier that a contact is with, as demonstrated in the screenshot to the left. In the menu bar, there is a choice between showing only VHA contacts or all.

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Just a heads up to let you know that MacTalk will not be doing a live podcast for the Apple event tomorrow morning. Apple is streaming it live themselves, so I figure you’d want to hear Steve, not us talking! That said, there will be an IRC channel active during the event.

The server name is irc.moofspeak.net and the channel name is #apple – if you’re unfamiliar with IRC, check this YouTube vid tutorial out.

To view Apple’s live stream of the event, be sure to have a Mac with 10.6 handy, or an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad running iOS 3.0 or higher. The stream won’t work on any other platform. A link to the stream will be on apple.com closer to the start time.

The Apple event begins at 3AM, Thursday the 2nd of September (AEST).

Thank you to Leading Edge Computers for sponsoring Ask MacTalk! Leading Edge Computers have over 60 Authorised Apple Resellers in regional & metro Australia; they are your local Apple Specialists!

Answering questions to the best of their ability this episode is Anthony (decryption), Kristofor (kristofor), Steve (boxdog) and James (smithjw). These are the queries they addressed:

If you have a question you’d like to ask us, simply email ask@mactalk.com.au! We’re still new at this, so feedback is very welcome!

• Transfer from Outlook to Entourage
• Time Machine Over Wifi
• iTunes Jukebox Setup
• Protect Mac From Internet Nasties
• iPhoto Not Detecting Camera

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Computers break.

They stop working properly and leave us wondering what happened.

It’s common to hear people lamenting that their computer is far less reliable than, say, their microwave even though a microwave costs far less.  To some extent, this is true.  However, it doesn’t take into account the significant differences between them.

A microwave really only has one function, it makes things hot.  There are very few controls or configurations and you basically just use it for it’s one or two functions and nothing else.

On the other hand, a computer is a much more general device.  What I do with my Mac will be different to what you do with yours.  In allowing for this flexibility in usage, the trade-off is in complexity.  Having the freedom to go outside the normal operating environment can cause problems.

Many of the faults I see in my workshop are a result of something the owner has done with their computer – be it installing incompatible software, neglecting routine maintenance, not having adequate protection from the elements, or whatever.

For most modern Apple computers, unless you’re confident in your technical abilities you’re quickly going to reach a point where you’ll need to take your computer to a service centre for repairs.

How well your repair turns out can be affected by some preparation and understanding on your part.  Understanding how to give good information to the repair tech will help you get a good result.  Understanding the overall repair process and the time it can take will help you set a reasonable expectation for your repair.

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In an out of nowhere move, Apple is providing a public live stream of their September 1st (Sept 2nd here in Australia) event!! Apple used to do this a couple of years ago and we’ve all missed it – for whatever reason, Apple is going back to those early 2000’s and streaming the event live again!

The live broadcast will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT on September 1, 2010 (3:00AM, AEST, September 2, 2010) at www.apple.com

Full details on Apple’s PR site.

I wonder what Apple has up their sleeve that makes a live event necessary?

Good morning, good sirs and madams! It is I, the MacTalk news monkey, come to deliver your news. On with the news!

There’s a quadracopter on the loose, and it’s devastatingly cool. Touch Arcade got a chance to play with every 12 year old’s dream toy, and they’ve got unboxing and first impressions over at their website.

Intel are all set to acquire Infineon’s wireless division, giving them potential new options and technologies to further their WiMAX and other associated wireless shenanigans.

iLounge have the full report on new iPod cases. This probably has something to do with Apple’s event tomorrow (which is on at 3am tomorrow morning, if you’re planning on staying up).

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Cheers to Ram City for sponsoring the MacTalk Podcast & Can Touch This – check them out if you need RAM!

Talking about iOS this episode is Dan (zillatron), Gavin (mrbrut), Shawn (the gaffer guy) and Anthony (decryption).

• H264 Remains Free
• Jailbreakers Focus on 4.1
• Joe Hewitt Dummy Spit at Android
• Griffin Party Dock
• September Apple Event
• Fragger Update
• ANZ GoMoney
• Wired Updated

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