iPhone Software 1.1.3 is Now Available

iPhone Software 1.1.3 is now available through iTunes. it weighs in at 162.1 MB.
iPhone1,1_1.1.3_4A93_Restore.ipsw

Please DO NOT upgrade your iPhone if you have it Jail-Broken or unlocked.

iPhone Software 1.1.3 Updates on iTunes 7.6

New features are:

  • New Maps Application
    – Find location
    – Improved UI
  • Send SMS text messages to multiple recipient
  • Customize home screen
    – Rearrange icons
    – Add Safari bookmarks to Home Screen
    – Create up to 9 Home Screen pages
  • IMAP support for Gmail
  • Support for iTunes Store movie rental
  • Enhanced video player
    – Chapters
    – Subtitles
    – Alternate Language tracks
  • Lyrics support in iPod

iPhone movie rental tab

MacWorld San Francisco 2008 – “There’s something in the air.”

January 15th, 2008

Time Capsule

Apple - Time Capsule

iPhone Software 1.1.3 – read more here

Apple - iPhone Software 1.1.3

iPod touch upgrade – ($19.99 upgrade cost) – editorials/rants coming soon

Apple - iPod Touch January 2008 updates

iTunes Movie Rentals

AppleTV (New Software – Free Upgrade)

AppleTV - Take 2

MacBook Air

Apple - Introducing MacBook Air
——-

Here we go again.

Steve Jobs is taking the center stage at MacWorld San Francisco 2008, delivering his keynote. Many has speculated what he will say, and the rumors are running wild. What’s with the “air”? What’s in the air?

Take all the rumors with a boulder of salt. In short time we all will find out.

Live coverage of MacWorld San Francisco 2008 Keynote starting at 09:00AM Pacific Standard Time:

Mac Rumors Live
Engadget
Ars Technica
MacScoop
LoopRumors
The Mac Observer
MacDailyNews
MacWorld
The Unofficial Apple Weblog
CNETLive
Mac360

Year 2007 Expires on December 31st at Midnight

Despite all efforts to hack the flow of time, the “year 2007” expires on December 31st at midnight. Teams of hackers are still working on cracking the encryptions to prevent “year 2007” from expiring. Unfortunately, their efforts so far bear no fruits.

If you are affected by the expirations, please do not panic. Upon the expiration of “year 2007”, “year 2008” will automatically activate and resume any tasks carried over from “year 2007”. If for some reasons, you found out that other people in different part of the world were already upgraded to “year 2008”, please do not panic. That’s because you’re living in a different time zone that is a little bit behind the time. As a matter of fact, numbers of part of the world have already had “year 2008” activated at the time of this writing.

Q: Would I need a new serial number to upgrade from “year 2007” to year 2008″?
A: No. You don’t need any serial numbers at all.

Q: Is “year 2008” backward compatible with “year 2007”?
A: Generally yes. But remember to date anything with “2008” instead of “2007”. Let alone using “2009”.

Q: Where do I sign up for year 2009 beta testing?
A: Unfortunately such beta program has not been announced yet.

Q: I love “year 2007”, and I refuse to upgrade to “year 2008”. What can I do to stay with year 2007?
A: In a way it is a mandatory upgrade. You can pretend that it’s still
year 2007, but it’s going to be hard to interact with everyone else. There is one other extreme solution, but I won’t get into that; let alone recommending or condoning it.

Q: Will year 2008 performs better than year 2007.
A: Results may vary. It also depends on what happened in
year 2007.

Q: Will my love life be better after upgrading to year 2008?
A: Can’t answer that one. You’re on your own, buddy!

Q: What kind of warranty does year 2008 come with?
A:
Year 2008 comes with a limited lifetime warranty; the lifetime of “year 2008”. It’s guaranteed to run until December 31st, 2008. It also comes with guaranteed upgrade to year 2009.

Q: Can I get full refund if I don’t like year 2008?
A: You’ll get full refund of the amount you paid for purchasing the
year 2008. Basically you’ll get refund in the amount of nothing.

Q: I think I like year 2008. But can it run Linux?
A: You dirty unbathed Linux Hippie!

Q: Should I buy an iPhone along with year 2008?
A: Should you? Buy it if you want it. I’d suggest to wait until Steve Jobs is done with his annual Keynote at MacWorld San Francisco. If you’re recently given a T-Mobile Dash after you dropped and broke your Treo, just wait and listen to me!

Year 2008 is expected to be the time of many events, which some of them are carried over from year 2007. In the world of technology, many events are scheduled to take place in year 2008. Confirmed events to take place shortly after year 2008 activates are CES and MacWorld San Francisco.

According to many rumors, speculations, analysis, and pure imaginations; the followings are expected to be announced at MacWorld San Francisco 2008:

  • iPhone announcements. Second Generation iPhone with 3G network support?
  • New Mac announcements. New MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and Mac mini?
  • Updates to Apple TV with more features.
  • iTunes movie rental.
  • More DRM-free music on iTunes Store.
  • New Apple software. What could it be?
  • iPhone software updates.
  • More news on iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK).
  • Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard update. (10.5.3)
  • A new device from Apple. OK, this one can be classified “made-up”. Take that, Apple!

to be continued.

Apple: iPhone and iPod touch Software 1.1.2 is Available Through iTunes

Apple has officially released iPhone and iPod touch Software 1.1.2 through iTunes.

Previously, the Software Update was only available on Apple Download server, during iPhone launch in the UK and Germany.

How to add your own custom made ringtones to the iPhone:

  • You need iTunes 7.5 and iPhone Software 1.1.2
  • Encode the file into 128kbps AAC, smaller file size is preferred. I use GarageBand to edit and convert the audio file.
  • Rename the file extension from “.m4a” to “.m4r”; for Mac OS X “Get Info” the file, then change the extension name there.
  • Add the now “.m4r” file into iTunes, preferably have iTunes to copy the files into the library.
  • Connect your iPhone, go to the “Ringtones” tab, and check the ringtones you want to send to the iPhone.

more on this.

iPhone Software 1.1.2

iPhone Software 1.1.2
UPDATE (2007.11.12): It is now available through iTunes. Connect your iPhone, launch iTunes, and “Check for Update”.

There is no radically new features added in iPhone Software 1.1.2 which is now made available on Apple’s software download server.

iPhone Software 1.1.2 (160.1MB) | iPod touch Software 1.1.2 (157.9MB)

Custom ringtones are separated from standard ones.
PLUS: You can use the .m4r method to add your own custom ringtones to the iPhone.

How to add your own custom made ringtones to the iPhone:

  • You need iTunes 7.5 and iPhone Software 1.1.2
  • Encode the file into 128kbps AAC, smaller file size is preferred. I use GarageBand to edit and convert the audio file.
  • Rename the file extension from “.m4a” to “.m4r”; for Mac OS X “Get Info” the file, then change the extension name there.
  • Add the now “.m4r” file into iTunes, preferably have iTunes to copy the files into the library.
  • Connect your iPhone, go to the “Ringtones” tab, and check the ringtones you want to send to the iPhone.

There is now iPhone battery indicator on iTunes (tested using iTunes 7.5).

iPhone Software 1.1.2 - Power icon in iTunes 7.5

Right after iPhone Software Update or Software restore, the iPhone is flashing “Slide to Unlock” in different languages (French and German).

more to come….

Apple Announces SDK for iPhone and iPod touch

Apple announces that iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) will be made available sometimes in February 2008. It is not clear if the SDK will be Mac OS X only or will be available for Windows OS also.

From Apple Hot News:

Third Party Applications on the iPhone
Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. …….

It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. …….

……. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.

We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.

Steve

P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch. [Oct 17, 2007]

Back in July 2002, on TWiT 103 Leo Laporte mentioned a rumor he heard about the iPhone SDK. According to Laporte, he heard that Apple already had a “mature” iPhone SDK on Mac OS X, and Apple was still working on the SDK on Windows OS. It was immediately called “bogus”. Apparently Laporte received this info on his “The Tech Guy Radio Show” chat room from an anonymous person. Unfortunately, Laporte no longer posts any of the chat transcript to quote the info verbatim. In effect, the anonymous person told Laporte that Apple had a working iPhone SDK on Mac OS X and might be working on the Windows OS version. Despite of all conflicting news, the information is somewhat accurate.

The iPhone and iPod touch OS is based on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Most likely that the SDK will require Leopard, and there will be no Windows OS version. This means if you want to develop apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, you need to use Mac OS X Leopard.

Amazon MP3 BETA Offers DRM-Free Music

Amazon has taken its new music service to public beta.

Introducing Amazon MP3, a la carte DRM-free MP3 digital music downloads.

Amazon MP3 BETA

Most DRM-free MP3 tracks are priced ¢89, and most albums are priced from $5.99 to $9.99. Tracks are encoded in 256kbps MP3. Amazon recommends installing Amazon MP3 Downloader, that will automatically add any purchased song to iTunes or Windows Media Player.

Amazon MP3 Downloader

Unlike Amazon Unbox, Amazon MP3 service is compatible with Mac and Windows (haven’t tried it on Linux).

At first, it seems that Amazon MP3 is a worthy competitor to Apple iTunes Store. Looking ahead and beyond, this is a victory over the dreaded DRM. It is interesting how Universal Music Group purposely excludes Apple iTunes Store from its DRM-free offerings. Eventually, it won’t matter anymore, because DRM-free MP3s will work in any music players. Be it an iPod, Creative Zen, SanDisk Sansa, or even Zune.

I can play the MP3 I purchased from Amazon MP3 on my iPhone.

Support DRM-free music service!