Techno Babble

For others who may experience a similar issue …

I’d just got my iPad 2 and connected it up to my Mac machine running the latest Mac OS X v 10.6.7 and started iTunes as instructed.

Things seemed to be going fine through registration and setup when I received the abrupt warning

iTunes was unable to load dataclass information from Sync Services. Reconnect or try again later.

iTunes did, however, recognise that an upgrade to iOS 4.3.3 was required and proceeded with the download.

At the start of the iOS upgrade, however, I got the equally strange message

iTunes could not backup KML System’s iPad because the backup session failed.

Tried all the usual things, checked iTunes version was up-to-date, rebooted machine, etc. etc.
Was there a problem because I had Dropbox running ? (this didn’t seem to be a problem)

How about trying the “Restore to original settings” ? (This did proceed to install iOS 4.3.3 on the iPad but the same messages persisted and sync would still not work).

Was there something wrong with the iPad ? (brand new too! – but no, the same problem was apparent with my 2nd Generation iPod Touch which produced the same messages when plugged in).

To cut a long story short, it appears that installing Xcode 4 will corrupt an existing installation of iTunes in some way. The solution is simply to reinstall iTunes!!

Lo and behold, the problem went away after a re-install of iTunes and all is back in working order with syncing and backups working as per normal.

ps … I came across an interesting topic on the Apple Support Communities which discusses the same issue and contains some additional steps which may be required if a simple re-install of iTunes fails to resolve the issue.

https://discussions.apple.com/message/13213319?messageID=13213319

A colleague of mine finally got his hands on a new iPad 2 after waiting in line at the Apple Store in Cambridge on Friday. He kindly loaned it to me this morning for a quick look.

He also obtained the Smart Cover which has a magnetic hinge that aligns and snaps into place giving a perfect fit. It can be folded to provide a stand for the iPad.


When compared alongside the first generation iPad, you can immediately see how much thinner the new one is.

Cameras front and rear, better speaker, slimmer and lighter – that’s about it apart from the improvements to the internal electronics ( but I still like it and think it will be another winner. I’m not sure about the smart cover though )

The 2nd Generation Apple tablet computer is on sale from today in the US.

It should be available in a number of other countries including the UK on March 25th.

Slimmer than the original  at 9.5in x 7.31in x 0.34in (241.2mm x 185.7mm x 8.8mm)  and lighter too at around 1.33 pounds (600g) that’s 33% thinner and 15% lighter.

Powered by a custom designed 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor, with a 9.7 inch (diagonal) LED backlit multi-touch display providing a graphics resolution of 1024×768 pixels. The battery will allow up to 10 hours of use from a full charge.

New features include 2 cameras – a front facing camera providing VGA quality at up to 30 frames a second with audio, to support Apples’ FaceTime video calling facility and a back facing camera that allows recording HD images/video. The still back-facing camera provides 5x digital zoom. A 3-axis gyro, Accelerometer Ambient Light Sensor and Digital Compass are incorporated.

Available with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage in either Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi + 3G versions. Prices start from $499.

Notable accessories available (at extra cost) include:

The iPad 2 Smart Cover provides additional protection and can fold in just the right places to create a stand for holding the iPad.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/smart-cover/

Use the 30-pin to HDMI wow AV adapter to plug the iPad 2 into your HDTV, projector and display your iPad 2 screen so that everyone else can watch too

http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/mirroring.html

The iOS 4.3 Software Update from Apple, has been released a couple of days before the iPad 2 hits the streets.

Main enhancements to iOS4.3 include:

• Faster web browsing with Safari incorporating the new Nitro JavaScript engine. This will run JavaScript up to 2x quicker than the speed of Safari in iOS4.2.
• iTunes Home Sharing allows iOS 4.3 users to play media on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch from their iTunes library on a Mac or PC over a local wi-fi network.
• There are also improvements to AirPlay that allow you to stream additional content including video from 3rd party apps, to AppleTV (which requires a 2nd generation Apple TV running the latest software).
• There is a new Personal Hotspot feature. This allows you to share an iPhone 4 cellular data connection with up to 5 additional devices in a combination of a maximum of 3 over Wi-Fi, 3 over BlueTooth and 1 USB device.
  Note: Personal Hotspot requires a supporting hotspot tethering plan from your carrier
• The iPad side switch can be customised to allow you to either use it to lock the screen in landscape or portrait mode or to use it as a mute button.
• Also on iPad, you can use 4 and 5 finger gestures that allow you to pinch to reach the Home Screen. Swipe Up to show the multi-tasking bar and Swipe Left or Swipe Right to switch between running applications.

As always, to install the updates it’s simply a case of connecting to your Mac or PC and using the software update feature for your device in iTunes.

Note: The iPhone 3G or 1st and 2nd generation iPod Touch are no longer supported in this version of iOS.

Full details about iOS 4.3 are available from:

http://www.apple.com/ios/

MacPaint was written by Bill Atkinson, who was a member of the original Macintosh development team. He based it on his earlier LisaSketch (also called SketchPad) for the unsuccessful Apple Lisa computer, so he originally called it MacSketch. He started work on the Mac version in early 1983.

Why am I telling you this ?

The source code for this early PC application has been officially donated by Apple to the Computer History Museum in California. The material remains Copyright to Apple Inc and is available only for non-commercial use.

Read a detailed article from Bloomberg Business Week at

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2010/07/apple_donates_macpaint_source_code_to_computer_history_museum.html

and visit the museum at

http://www.computerhistory.org/highlights/macpaint/

What’s Bill Atkinson up to today …

http://www.billatkinson.com/Homepage.pl

Promised on June 24th and arrived on June 25th so not too bad … the iPhone 4 is here.

Includes the iPhone 4, Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic, Dock Connector to USB cable and USB Power Adapter.

Transfer from an existing iPhone 3G to the new one was straightforward.

Pop down to the O2 store, and pick up a micro-sim.

Transferring from the original sim to the new sim is all handled on-line at the O2 website – first, create a backup of your existing iPhone using iTunes, then follow the process outlined on the website for transferring between the old and new, restore from your backup and within minutes, in my case, the old phone was no more. (O2 indicate it could take up to 24 hours before the new iPhone/Sim becomes operational but this was all achieved easily within half an hour from start to end).

http://shop.o2.co.uk/new-iphone/aboutsimswap.html

Problems ?

Installation was a breeze.

Lots of reports, however, related to people experiencing a loss of signal when using the phone. Classed by some as a Major flaw, the phone can lose signal depending on how you hold it !!

Here’s a video demonstrating the problem

The official line from Apple has been quoted as:

Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.

Any solutions? (apart from not holding it like that). Possibly, there’s an accessory for that

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC597ZM/A

Now we know why …

It’s possible that this could provide suitable insulation from the antennae and the iPhone 4 Bumper may resolve the issue ( for another £25!! )

Time will tell …

Its fitting, on the day of general availability of the iPhone 4 in the UK,  that you can take a look inside.

iFxit provides full details of their iPhone 4 teardown at

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-4-Teardown/3130/1

Apple has recently released an updated version of its Mac Mini computer.

The first thing to notice is the ultra-compact nature of the device with overall dimensions of  3.6cm x 19.7cm x 19.7cm  The power supply is built-in eliminating the need for an external PSU brick. Also provided is a removal panel on the base that allows access to the internals where you can easily upgrade the memory if necessary.

Features include:

• Processor is a 2.4GHz or 2.66GHz Intel core 2 Duo
• built-in power supply
• 2GB of RAM in the standard configuration and the 2 SO-DIMM slots support up to 8GB
• Choice of a 320GB or 500GB Serial ATA hard disk drive
• 8x slot-loading CD/DVD SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor supporting a resolution up to 2560×1600 pixels
• 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR , 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet
• Mini display port, HDMI port, DVI output via HDMI to DVI adapter
• 1 xFirewire 800 port, 4xUSB 2.0 ports and SD card slot

Want to see what it looks like from the inside? See the ifixit teardown …

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Mac-Mini-Mid-2010-Teardown/3094