Ryan Faas's Most Recent Posts

Apple's new MacBook Pro models include an SD card slot, and that slot offers a lot more power than just moving photos. In fact, SD cards can even be used to boot the new MacBooks.

In the news from Apple's Let's Rock event, we heard about iTunes 8, Genius, HD TV shows, new iPods, and the iPod Touch/iPhone 2.1 update - but what about bringing all that goodness to the Apple TV?

The new Genius feature in iTunes 8 makes building playlists around a single song incredibly easy - but just what magic is Apple working to make it happen?

Given the choice between standing in line and buying an iPhone 3G at Apple or AT&T stores, here's are my reasons for opting to buy at an AT&T store.

Apple's recently relaunched Mac Business site reiterates that Mac OS X is a viable business platform, particularly for new and small businesses - even in some unexpected industries.

Apple's latest updates to its MacBook Pro line includes the MacBook Air's multi-touch trackpad while other updates to the MacBook and MacBook Pro focus on speed, RAM, and storage.

Reports have emerged that Apple's new MacBook Air requires an over-powered USB port for its external Superdrive, recalling the days of Apple subnotebooks with proprietary connections.

My neighborhood Starbucks recently asked its customers (via labeled tip jars) whether they preferred PC or Macs, with some interesting results and discussions.

Moving from a Windows Mobile smart phone to the iPhone has definitely affected how I deal with email, web browsing, and even taking photos on the go.

As Leopard continues to roar across the globe, some of the ways in which Leopard functions differently when it comes to Windows networks and file sharing are creating difficulties for cross-platform users. Here are a few Leopard/Windows tips to keep in mind:

• WINS functionality is now located in the Network pane of System Preferences (select your network port of choice and then click the Advanced button and you'll see a WINS tab). In Tiger/Panther, this was in the Directory Access utility. The WINS tab allows you to specify a WINS server and to choose a Windows workgroup.
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One question I’ve been asked ever since Apple announced screen sharing as a part of Leopard is whether this means larger organizations still need Apple Remote Desktop. The answer is yes in many cases. Remote observation and control are small parts of what Apple Remote Desktop can do. It also offers a wide range of remote deployment tools as well as an extensive set of reporting and asset management features. These features are sometimes even more useful than simple remote observation and management.

The first legitimately unlocked iPhones are set to arrive next month. French carrier Orange announced today that it will be selling unlocked iPhones as well as well as locked models when the iPhone is released in France next month. Apple officially acknowledged Orange (how funny does that sound?) as the French iPhone carrier yesterday in addition to confirming next Friday as the ship date for both Leopard and Leopard Server.

This will make the first time that iPhones are available in an unlocked state from Apple. The decision to release an unlocked model is most likely to comply with French law stipulating that mobile phones cannot be sold that require a user to sign a contract (though users can apparently opt to sign an agreement to purchase a phone at a reduced price). Orange has yet to announce pricing for the unlocked iPhone.

The ongoing game between Apple and would-be iPhone hackers and unlockers appears to be back in full swing. The commercial iPhoneSIMFree utility that allows users to unlock their iPhones for use with GSM networks not sanctioned by Apple has been updated to work with version 1.1.1 iPhones. Not only does the software, now at version 1.6, allow users to unlock new iPhones, it is also reportedly able to restore full functionality to iPhones that had been previously unlocked and rendered inoperable about the iPhone 1.1.1 update.

The iPhoneSIMFree utility is a commercial tool that must be purchased from one of several retailers around the world.

Just two days after reporting preliminary success in opening iPhones updated to firmware 1.1.1, the iPhone Dev Team has published a process for getting around Apple's updates to jail break an iPhone and install non-Apple applications. The process involves downgrading the iPhone to version 1.0.2, patching it, upgrading, and patching again. If you think that sounds convoluted, you're right. The hacking process is somewhat convoluted and is definitely not for the faint of heart.

There have actually been two separately published methods for achieving this feat. One, described at the iPhone Alley website, is described as a leaked method previously used by the iPhone Dev Team. The other, which appears to be the officially endorsed method (as much as something released by an unofficial group of iPhone hackers can be be considered official) is described and linked to by this post at The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

While most of the US celebrated the discovery of the new world by Columbus, the the iPhone hacking community was busy discovering how to make non-Apple iPhone applications work in spite of the enhanced safeguards that Apple put in place with the iPhone 1.1.1 firmware update. The update had disabled all native applications installed on an iPhone, as well as any non-iTunes ringtones, and disabled hacks that allowed the iPhone to be unlocked and used on other GSM networks (in the process completely disabling many of the devices).

At noon on Monday, the first report of a preliminary jail break (the process of opening the iPhone for installation of files and applications) was posted by Erica Sadun at The Unofficial Apple Weblog. By the end of the day, not only was there news of a way around Apple's update, but there was also word that whole applications were being updated to run under the iPhone 1.1.1. The iPhone Dev Team, an unofficial group of programmers who developed the first jail breaking tools for earlier revisions of the iPhone software, has not yet released a tool for general use, but iPhone application makers are already updating 
their creations in preparation for an updated tool. Also, a hack has been developed to ensure that the home screen can be expanded to support more applications than the few empty spaces for icons. In a related story, TUAW also reported the first signs of success in jail breaking the iPod touch. So far, there has been no news about updates to the tools used to unlock an iPhone for use with other networks.