Using the little search box at the top of TUAW used to be... well, a little frustrating. You couldn't order the results, and the results that you did get could be a little confusing. That is all a thing of the post because TUAW is now sporting a shiny new search interface (as well as some new and improved back end code that powers the search function).
Now you can sort search results by relevance or by date (hurrah!), which will make it much easier to find that one iPod case we posted about a couple of weeks ago. You'll also notice that you can see the permalink to the story, as well as jump straight to the comments from the search results (because really, you aren't here to read what we say but rather to read what others have to say about what we write) so getting to the information you are looking for has never been easier.
I have to admit: it's virtually impossible to keep up with our own Peter Rojas of Engadget and Weblogs, Inc. I swear the guy must have ripped off Michael Keaton's idea from Multiplicity to get around the way he does. Hadley Stern at Apple Matters recently snagged some time with Peter to wax poetic about the iPhone, Apple TV, and how there simply ain't no web like the Mac web.
Peter brings an interesting perspective to Apple's recent announcements, pointing out that the iPhone and Apple TV aren't necessarily ground breaking products - but they *are* Apple's classic play of doing old, stagnant things in refreshing new ways. The interview is a good read, especially if you're looking for thoughts from someone whose job it is to report on similar products from tech companies across the entire industry.
Okay folks, it's time once again for Ask TUAW answers. As before, I'll be offering answers to several reader questions from last week. I encourage other readers to offer their thoughts, and especially to pose more questions for next week. This week we'll be tackling questions about keeping windows afloat, finding missing folders in Save dialogs, static IP addresses, and more. So without further ado, let's turn to the questions
When it rains it pours as the Morton Salt company says, which really has nothing to do with this post. First Apple updates the Xserve RAID and then they update the Xserve RAID Admin Tools 1.5.1. I smell conspiracy. No, wait, that's just the salt again.
This update brings support for the larger disks in the slightly revamped Xserve RAID, as well as a number of other fixes that are listed in the support doc.
Attention Apple enterprise geeks: Apple has just updated the Xserve RAID. The Xserve RAID, in case you are not aware, is Apple's very competitively priced storage solution. The Xserve RAID can now be configured to sport 14 750 GB drives, which translates to a whopping 10.5TB (that's a lot of iTunes tracks), up from 7TB.
Also of note, the two top tier pre-configured versions have dropped in price ($300, and $600 cheaper respectively). The 500 GB drive modules have also been priced down from $649 to $599.
Go forth and get your storage on, as the kids say (the kids say that, right?). Thanks, Jonathan.
It goes without question that Steve Jobs can teach a few things to anyone who needs help with their presentation skills. Watching his on-stage performance can offer a wealth of ideas and tips for the keynote-impaired, but now, so can viewing his notes. AtariST, aka a co-founder of Spymac.com, has posted twoimages he managed to snap of Steve's on-stage notes, offering a glimpse into why the big J is able to delivery so much shock and awe during his keynotes.
How that book is produced is anyone's guess, though one commenter at Spymac mentioned it could be the work of iPhoto. Has anyone else seen something like this made from iPhoto's book printing service?
Ry Cooder, an accomplished guitarist, was having trouble with his latest solo effort 'My Name is Buddy.' Try as he might he just didn't like the way that the tracks (that's songs in musician speak) sounded. They were a bit over processed to his ears, however, when Ry burned a CD of his album from iTunes it sounded great.
What was going on?
One of the sound engineers pointed out that iTunes applies a 'Sound Enhancer' to each track, hence why they sounded so sweet. Ry then knew the answer, he just took the iTunes CD and make it the 'master' (that's the copy of the final album that all others are created from). See that, you too can create an awesome album with just a little talent, iTunes, a studio full of expensive equipment, and some highly trained professionals.
Sadly, the album isn't available on the iTunes Store (yet).
Apple just released a new Security Update for QuickTime. Do you remember the recent worries about malicious URLs? The ones about opening QuickTime to arbitrary code execution when linking to streaming protocol (RTSP) URLs? This patch responds to the buffer overflow issue in QuickTime's RTSP URL handling. "A QTL file that triggers this issue has been published on the Month of Apple Bugs web site (MOAB-01-01-2007). This update addresses the issue by performing additional validation of RTSP URLs." Nice to note that Apple has been keeping track of MOAB and is responding to its concerns in a timely fashion.
Back in October, Apple dropped DVDs as their distribution system of choice for WWDC sessions and presentation slides. The company moved all this content to iTunes - but only for Select and Premiere members of the ADC (Apple Developer Connection). Today I just received an ADC email titled "Watch Mac OS X State of the Union," re-announcing the availability of this content, but seemingly for all ADC members. This time around there is no talk of access only for specific members, so it sounds like anyone with a valid ADC account of one level or another can access this library of Mac OS X development goodness. We would post the URL, but it seems as though it is only accessible by logging into one's ADC account online.
[Update: According to readers, it sounds like only the general State of the Union sessions are offered, while access to "the juicy stuff" still requires a Leopard Early Starter Kit.]
In one of our Ask TUAW posts, we were asked about resources for learning how to develop applications on the Mac. We've previously mentioned Scott Stevenson and Cocoa Dev Central and now he's back with a very richly illustrated introductory Learn Cocoa tutorial that slowly takes you through building your first Cocoa application with Xcode, even if you have no prior experience. Now it's true that it's not much of an application in the end, but nonetheless it's a start, and a way to begin learning of the riches of Mac software development. So set aside a few minutes to run through the tutorial, and even if you're like me and barely know which end of Xcode is up, you too can say you've programmed for the Mac!
Scott asks for a donation if you find the tutorial worthwhile.
After trying it, I have to admit that I don't know quite what to make of this one. FlyPath is a new file browser and manger for OS X, and when I say browser I mean it; it is self-consciously not an attempt to remake the Finder. Rather, it allows you to browse your files without the fear (according to the developer) of accidentally doing something wrong. Its signature feature is "Fly-Over Mode," which allows you to "fly" through your folder hierarchies without actually clicking. I would have to say that this strikes me as a rather particular insistence on a certain way of interacting with your files, which as a Path Finder user I don't find particularly compelling, but which I suppose might meet the demands of a certain kind of purist. If anybody has tried and loves this thing, let me know why in the comments.
FlyPath is free for registered users of the GoodPage HTML/CSS editor or $13 on its own.
The apparently unexciting circle on the right is the main interface for DropCopy, a very cool little application for sending files between computers on your local network. First of all you need to install DropCopy on all the Macs on your LAN. When it is running, this little circle appears on your desktop and when you drag a file to it, a list of destinations (i.e. the other machines running DropCopy) will pop up. You choose the one you want and the file will "warp" to the other machine, no fuss, no muss. In addition to copying files you can also retrieve the clipboard contents of other machines running DropCopy (e.g. you can copy something to the clipboard on one machine, turn to another machine, retrieve it and paste it). I've found DropCopy to be the easiest and fastest way for sending a couple of files between machines on my home network (though you may have to open port 5052 on your firewall).
DropCopy is donationware on networks with 3 or fewer Macs, and $25 for larger networks. It's definitely a convenient time saver.
Posted Jan 23rd 2007 12:30PM by Erica Sadun Filed under: OS
Ever go shopping for OS X? There's the standard version, the server, and the family pack. And that's more or less about it. Vista? Not so much. As loyal TUAW reader Tyler pointed out, you can get the Ultimate version, the Premium version, the Home Premium version, the Business version, the Home Basic version, Additional Licence packs, the 64-bit Business Ultimate version for System Builders, the 32-bit Business Ultimate version for System Builders, the 64-bit Home Ultimate version for System Builders, and...
I'm sorry. I just can't go on. It's too overwhelming. And it goes on for page after expensive page after page after page on Amazon. So what does this tell you about Vista? And about Microsoft? The words unfocused and inefficient immediately spring to mind. They're spending way too much time creating distinctions that don't actually have a functional difference in the way that people actually use their computers, and which in the end will harm their brand identity.
For years, The Economist has monitored the "Big Mac Index" to measure the relative purchasing power of various currencies; it's not an exact measurement but it's an interesting (and moderately nutritious) one. Now, as noted by Marginal Revolution, Australia's Commonwealth Bank has extended the idea by measuring the Nano Index: comparing, you guessed it, the relative price of an iPod Nano in 26 countries.
The results are far-ranging, and obviously subject to Apple's local pricing policies in addition to government and trade restrictions. Worst places to shop for a Nano: Brazil is by far the most expensive at $327.71, way more than 2nd through 5th places India, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium (all under $225). US shoppers have a pretty good deal at the list price of $149, with only Japan, Canada and Hong Kong slightly cheaper. See the MR post as well as the Yahoo News story for more analysis of the macroeconomic implications of the tiny MP3 player's price tag.
It's amazing that in only five years the iPod has achieved enough global brand status to allow "indexing" alongside the Big Mac, Coca-Cola and a Starbucks latte. Update: Headline corrected to "Nano."
Welcome to this week's edition of Free Tuesday. Every week, we search though the iTunes stores around the world to bring you the newest and freshest iTunes freebies. This week, I've added a new category to try out: "Podcast Finds", free video that can be accessed internationally. If you like it or hate it, let us know in the comments.
US Music
US: Herculean by The Good, The Bad And The Queen With both Blur and Gorillaz, Damon Albarn brought forward a more dynamic, elastic definition of what pop music could be. With the latter, he reminded us that artists need not even be real. For this project, there's no doubting the reality of a line-up that includes the Clash's Paul Simonon, afro-beat legend Tony Allen, and the Verve's Simon Tong. "Herculean" is a downtempo, late-night evocation of desolate urban life. There's more than a little hope underneath the heavy atmosphere, as this song - like most of Albarn's tunes - finds beauty within the chaos.
US: El Sello by Ardnaxela Our free Single of the Week comes from the Puerto Rican singer Ardnaxela. If the name seems a little bit confusing, read it backwards and you'll see where it comes from. "El Sello" has an exciting, low-key sound - almost as if she's fused the worlds of disco and acoustic pop. So for those of you who like to dance, but feel a bit inhibited in the clubs, this is the tune for you.
US: On the Third Day by Michael Olson "On the Third Day" is taken from Michael Olson's sophomore album, Where Fear and Faith Collide. The track is a watertight pop song ready for mainstream acceptance, with the Christian artist relaying his faith with a tremendous amount of passion and confidence. Those with a weakness for epic grandeur and who tend to get misty-eyed thinking of "we are all one"-type sentiments should have a seat and take a listen to our free Discovery Download.
I have to admit: it's virtually impossible to keep up with our own Peter Rojas of Engadget and Weblogs, Inc. I swear the guy must have ripped off Michael Keaton's idea from 
Okay folks, it's time once again for 
When it rains it pours as the 
Ry Cooder, an accomplished guitarist, was 
Apple just released a new 
After trying it, I have to admit that I don't know quite what to make of this one. 
The apparently unexciting circle on the right is the main interface for 
For years, 
