Latest Posts in Editors' Notes

Making sense of 3G speeds

Reports abound that the iPhone 3G isn’t living up to its family name: it may be an iPhone, but ordinary owners, reporters, and pundits are saying that in regular usage its actual speed is far below the potential 700 Kbps to 1.7 Mbps claimed by AT&T for its currently deployed HSPA (high speed packet access) third-generation cellular data network.

I have a slight problem with this as someone who has obsessively followed first the evolution of Wi-Fi into something as nearly available as oxygen, and then cellular data networks as they moved from slow 2G into modest 3G rates.

Neither Apple nor AT&T has ever promised those rates to its iPhone subscribers. At the iPhone 3G’s introduction in June, Steve Jobs didn’t state the speed of the 2.5G EDGE standard that’s the fastest supported in the original iPhone—as fast as 200 Kbps with AT&T’s version—and then say that the iPhone 3G would be 3.5 to nearly 8 times faster. Instead, he showed a couple of examples, and talked about ranges of 2 to 3 times faster.

Second thoughts about iPhone 2.0?

Elsewhere on Macworld, I've offered up some advice on troubleshooting common iPhone issues. That was my mostly reasoned approach to troubles that have sprung up since I've upgraded to the iPhone 2.0 software; this is my more emotional response.

I've had a colorful history with Apple's iPhone software updates. Back in the 1.x days, I was convinced that I would never upgrade my iPhone software—not while I could enjoy the best applications that my jailbroken phone could support. I softened my stance with the arrival of the iPhone 2.0 update and its introduction of the App Store, because I believe third-party apps increase the power and the utility of the iPhone—and perchance because Those Who Sign The Checks asked that I upgrade. Despite my reluctance, however, I've been generally thrilled with the third-party App Store programs that I've installed, tested, and reviewed.

But the bugs in iPhone software 2.0.x—especially the fatal locked-at-the-logo issue I mention in my recent troubleshooting article—have soured me on the entire iPhone 2.0 experience. While I understand that not everyone is having these issues, the sample size is now large enough to show that there are, in fact, some serious and widespread issues with the iPhone 2.0 software. These problems affect both first-generation iPhones as well as the new iPhone 3Gs, so it’s not a question of older hardware with new software. While the troubleshooting steps I outline elsewhere on the site may help some of the time, the reality is that they shouldn't be necessary for what's supposed to be an always-functional device.

A September surprise from Apple?

Is Apple planning a special event for September? Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray seems to think so.

In a research note published last week, Munster predicts that Apple will have a special event next month that will focus attention on new iPod and MacBook models.

That sort of speculation isn’t without some basis in reality. During Apple’s recent quarterly conference call with financial analysts to discuss third-quarter results, chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer indicated that Apple would, in this current quarter, experience a “significant product transition.”

New iPod, old firmware

The iPhone 2.0 software has been out for three weeks now, giving iPhone and iPod touch users alike access to a host of new features. But some iPod touches available at your local Apple Store still feature the old firmware. And if you happen to buy a new touch that still ships with the 1.14 software installed, you’ll have to shell out another $10 to upgrade to the 2.0 version, even though that update has been available since July 11.

I know this, because that’s exactly what happened to me last week.

On July 31, I went to the Emeryville, Calif., Apple Store to “refresh” the aging and bloated sage iMac my mom had been using for the last several years. We picked up a new iMac, a new AirPort Base Station, and—as a last-minute purchase—a new 8GB iPod touch.

More ways to protect yourself from phishing scams

In my recent Editors’ Notes post on Consumer Reports’ recommendation that Mac users dump Safari because the Apple browser lacks the anti-phishing tools of Firefox and Opera, I focused on behavioral changes one can make that minimize the risks of phishing attempts. I didn’t, however, discuss a relatively simple configuration change you can make to your Mac that will give you a real anti-phishing tool—in Safari or any other browser you might want to use.

Consumer Reports touted Firefox or Opera over Safari because of the built-in anti-phishing tools in those first two browser; Safari has no such built-in capability. There is, however, a free service you can use that will give every browser on your Mac a full set of anti-phishing tools (and additional tools, if you choose to use them). This service is called OpenDNS, and it’s a free replacement for your Internet service provider’s (ISP) domain name servers.

So just what are domain name servers? A domain name server looks up addresses in the Domain Name System (DNS). In other words, a domain name server is the phone book for the Internet—it translates domain names (www.macworld.com, for example) into Internet protocol (IP) addresses (70.42.185.230, in the case of macworld.com). When you load a Web site, it’s this IP address that’s used to find the server, not the server’s name you typed into the URL bar. Without the DNS, you’d have to know the IP address of any Web site you wanted to use—not a very practical method for browsing the Web.

How sound is Consumer Reports’ Safari advice?

Consumer Reports has published its annual State of the Net survey in the September issue of the consumer advocacy magazine. And an article accompanying the review of assorted online threats titled Seven Online Blunders offered this morsel as Blunder No. Five:

According to this year’s State of the Net survey, Mac users fall prey to phishing scams at about the same rate as Windows users, yet far fewer of them protect themselves with an anti-phishing toolbar. To make matters worse, the browser of choice for most Mac users, Apple’s Safari, has no phishing protection. We think it should.

What you can do: Until Apple beefs up Safari, use a browser with phishing protection, such as the latest version of Firefox or Opera. Also try a free anti-phishing toolbar such as McAfee Site Advisor or FirePhish.

That’s some pretty strong advice there, telling Mac users to switch away from Safari, the browser of choice on the Mac platform by a wide margin. (It mirrors similar advice offered by payment processor PayPal earlier this year.) But is it good advice?

In a macro sense, sure it is—it’s always good to use tools that offer the most protection for the user. So if you want to switch to Firefox or Opera, then by all means, go ahead.

Why aren't Apple's software updates more descriptive?

On Wednesday, Apple released an update to iTunes. As with most of Apple’s software updates, the release notes were, shall we say, terse:

iTunes 7.7.1 includes fixes to improve stability and performance.

Wow, thanks Apple. That tells me a lot.

Later, a post by Adam Engst on TidBITS detailed the changes—based on comments from an anonymous Apple employee on Apple’s discussion boards and posts by users who think they found some improvements and fixes since the update. Not exactly official information.

Apple should take its retail act on the road

So two years ago, after I went on a protracted business trip/vacation and forgot to pack a cable for connecting my digital camera to my MacBook Pro, I was moved to pen this heartfelt, though not necessarily well-thought-out suggestion for Apple’s next retail effort. The gist of my argument was that Apple should open a slimmed-down version of its brick-and-mortar store inside the increasingly mall-like airports around the country. That way, the company could sell accessories, gear, and whatnot to forgetful travelers such as myself or maybe even an iPod to someone faced with the prospect of a cross-country flight marred by the airline’s forced viewing of a tedious romantic comedy starring Ashton Kutcher. If it meant not having to watch an Ashton Kutcher movie, I might buy an iPod at an airport—and I already own one.

My little brainstorm about retail strategy had come two years after Apple’s 2004 unveiling of a “mini” design for its Apple Store. The mini stores—still open for business in places like Palo Alto, Calif., Syracuse, New York, and Rockaway, New Jersey, among other locations—are roughly half the space of Apple’s most common retail layout and aimed at extending the company’s reach to areas that otherwise might be too small to merit a full-sized Apple Store. At that 2004 unveiling, Apple senior vice president of retail Ron Johnson even dangled the possibility of airport-based retail outlets, not unlike the ones I would write about two years later.

I hadn’t thought much about any of that—Apple’s mini stores, my call for airport-based retail outlets, my inability to pack properly—until the other day when I was rushing through the Oakland International Airport to catch a flight. There’s an unstaffed kiosk in Terminal One that happened to catch my eye.

The Mac keeps driving Apple

Some 48 hours removed from the light and heat of Apple’s third-quarter earnings announcements, a couple of things deserver further examination. And no, I’m not talking about the “Did someone just cough? Sell! Sell! SELL!” mentality that seems to have gripped the investment community.

What still stands out about Apple’s third-quarter performance—for me, at any rate—is just how well the company’s Mac business did. In case you missed Monday’s announcement, Apple said that it sold a little bit less than 2.5 million Macs during the three months ending in June. That’s the most Macs Apple has sold in any quarter ever. And if it sounds like I’m repeating myself, that’s because I am—this is the fourth time in the last five quarters that Apple has set a new standard for Mac sales.

Apple bested its Mac sales record without making too many radical changes to its product line. Yes, the just-completed quarter was the first full quarter in which the MacBook Air was on sale—the ultra-thin portable began shipping about a third of the way into Apple’s second quarter. And that doubtlessly helped the company move 1.5 million laptops during the June quarter, a 37 percent gain from last year’s portable shipments. Otherwise, apart from some chip changes to the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines as well as a similar processor bump to the iMac, Apple’s Mac offerings didn’t undergo any radical changes. That suggests to me that the company continues to reap the benefits from its switch to Intel-supplied chips and that its current lineup has struck a chord with consumers.

Filing details Apple’s complaint against Psystar

Apple says Psystar knowingly violated its copyrights and license agreements and induced customers who bought the OS X-running Open Computer to do the same. Because of that and the resulting damage that Apple alleges is being done to its brand, it’s asking the US. District Court for a permanent injunction that would bar Psystar from selling any more hardware with Apple software. And it wants Psystar to recall every Mac clone sold.

Those details are contained in the complaint Apple filed with the U.S. District Court’s Northern District of California. Apple filed its suit against Psystar on July 3, though word of the legal action first came to light earlier this week.

Now the text of Apple’s complaint is available online. (You can download it for a modest fee.) And the 35-page filing—a 16-page complaint plus 19 more pages of evidence—offers some insight into the basis of Apple’s allegations and the arguments it plans on making in court.