Category: Apple News

The Case of the Activation Unlock Tool

I’ve seen many pundits crying this weekend about Apple’s decision to remove the website that checks to see if an iOS device has been unlocked before you buy one from a 3rd party. I mean…crying. Like, “what do I do now?” and “How am I supposed to verify that Activation Lock has been turned off before I buy something online from a stranger?” Gee, let me think…

In one quick move, Apple has put a damper on 3rd party selling of Apple iOS devices. Quite brilliant when you think about it. This must have been an incredible tool for folks who steal iOS devices too. Pundits don’t seem to see the world beyond their keyboards unfortunately so most of the articles I’ve read this weekend where all about how this negatively impacts them.

My guess would be that a lot of the serial numbers that were used on the Activation Check site were actually reported stolen. I have to believe that Apple has a database of those serial numbers. Does Apple have a legal right to report the IP addresses of those lookups if they are linked to a stolen device? I have to believe they do. Lets assume for a second that as of this post, they do not.

Perhaps, they took the site down to add functionality that does just that.

In any event, Apple is always striving to expand the customer experience so if you think they are doing something to purposely adversely affect you, the user, then you are probably only fooling yourself.

I’m betting they are working on something that will make the experience better and help catch a few thieves along the way.

(image from macrumors.com)

Update: It seems that there was a pretty good reason for taking this down. Damn, I’m good.

iPhone 8 Rumor Page Added

The link is up above but I’ve started collecting rumors about the next iPhone. Why?

Because, it is so damn fun.

I have a friend who calls this type of thing “throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.”

She has a way with words. Perhaps, she should write for this site?

I may not catch all of the iPhone 8 rumors but I’ll try to get most of them.

In the end, the next phone may not even be called iPhone 8. If I were Apple, and wow! I am sure not. I wouldn’t call it iPhone 8 but something completely different like iPhone Sugar Biscuit.

Sure, when I say it you laugh.

If Apple actually called it that, it would be the most awesome name ever!

I know how this works.

P.S. Don’t think the 30 pin connector on the likeness above is lost on me. That makes this rendering particularly funny.

Windows 8 Versus Mac OS X Thought

Macintosh OS 9

The Mac operating system has changed over the years but not in very dramatic ways. In fact, anyone who has used OS 9 will know exactly how to use OS X. If you have used Tiger (10.4) then you can use Mountain Lion (10.8) without much todo or fanfare.

Steve Jobs knew that tablets were the future of computing and built the entire Mac eco-system around that idea. The features you find in iOS are readily becoming available in Mac OS X. This is deliberate.

What Microsoft is doing with Windows 8 is try to bridge a gap that has been building over a period of years. They are trying to jump ahead to a point that they were not preparing for. While Windows dabbled in touch screen interfaces, they saw something that was really “cool” but didn't really know how to apply it and use it to their advantage. I remember seeing Vista for the first time and listening to Microsoft tell me how awesome it was and was going to become. I also remember yawning and noting that all of those “cool new features” had been in Mac OS X for months or even years.

I am willing to bet (without having read the entire Steve Jobs biography) that Steve saw an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation's use of the PADD and snapped his fingers. I don't doubt that for a second because after watching the show, I myself wanted such a device. Man, the things you could do with a tablet computer! Steve Jobs did the same thing with the Xerox interface. While Xerox may not have fully understood what they had, Steve Jobs did. That is vision.

That is what Microsoft doesn't have.

This version of Windows is such a big jump from Windows 7 and so confusing to such a large base of users that this whole thing simply “smells” bad. Big jumps in OS are usually bad for consumers. I haven't even mentioned IT folks that may end up abandoning Windows in the workplace all together. They will have to weigh training hours, troubleshooting time, and costs against other alternatives that are much cheaper and offer less of a shock to their users. Let's face it. Windows in the workplace is expensive.

Windows 8 is such a big jump that it would be like paying someone to shoot you in the face if you are an IT guy.

Just. Sayin'

 

Photoshop JPG Problem Between Platforms

I recently downloaded a batch of pictures from the internet. The iMac refused to read those files as JPG so I did a little digging (actually Command-I on one of the files) and found that these particular files were saved with Photoshop CS5.1 for Windows. The following graphic shows what the files look like on OS X 10.8

 

Incorrect JPG Files on OS X 10.8

The next question you're probably asking is “how to I fix this?” The solution is rather simple but will require a 3rd party program unless you like renaming multiple files by hand. Great, if you only have a couple of pictures to fix but if you have a whole bunch then I recommend Name Mangler. I'll explain why.

Simply changing the name of the file to say “waterfall.jpg” won't fix the problem or at least, it didn't for me. What we need to do is change the extension as well. So, instead of JPG we need it to be JPEG. Name Mangler will allow you to make that change. Once, you rename the files with an extension of JPEG..boom! You have your files in a completely readable format by OS X 10.8.

Note - Append file extension is unchecked

 

How about Adobe Bridge CS6? I've tried converting with Adobe Bridge and it just wouldn't cooperate. Sure, you could actually view the photos and see how they were saved originally but that's it. If anyone knows of a method that works in Adobe Bridge, please let me know (me at smpmike dot com)

 

Someday & Stuff

Someday, I’ll get back to regular posting. After this holiday season me thinks.

Here are a few stories that I’ve saved for no particular reason at all other than “they caught my eye.”

How to make the perfect hamburger using liquid nitrogen.

Clay Shirky on the future of news and news media.

Another Earth?

Special seats at the theater for folks who like to tweet.

U.S. Cellular says they’ll wait until Apple adopts LTE before they decide to sell the iPhone. Apple says..”zzzzzzzzz.”

Carbon Dioxide is outed as being much to do about nothing as far as global warming science is concerned.

A Nano Regression?

Most folks who are “geeky” enough (like me) tend to buy the latest iPod when Apple releases them.

I remember when I bought my first iPod. Apple has come a long way since then. The designs have gotten better, the storage capacity has grown, they’ve added cameras, and even a radio.

Until the last Nano. They made this one small, square, and have given it a touch screen. Ok, that’s cool.

Apple ipod nano 16gb mp3 player 6th generation latest model blue largefrontimage 320w

However, it doesn’t play video and it doesn’t have a camera. Oh yeah, it doesn’t have an external speaker (all features of the previous version).

HT1353 nano5g

But, you can wear it like a watch.

4950716859 40cbfd92c0

Ok, cool.

I’ve gotten the 16 gig version of the last design and the latest design. I can’t help feeling that I’ve paid the same amount of money for less of a product.

Like the 3.5″ floppy drive in the old iMacs, perhaps this is Apple’s way of saying that we don’t need those things in a Nano.