You can set which folder appears in a new Finder window by going to Finder, Preferences and then looking in the General tab. You can choose any folder. So if you have a folder you need to access often, you can set it to always open with that folder when you use the Command+N shortcut in the Finder.
This week was dominated by iPhone news. Monday saw the release of iOS 4, the fourth major revision of the iPhone OS. Thursday morning the iPhone 4 became available across the U.S. and several other countries. During the week, the new iBooks app for iPhone and iMovie app for iPhone 4 were released.
The release of iOS 4 brought new features like multitasking and app folders to the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 3rd generation. In addition to these major features, dozens of minor improvements to the operating system and base apps were introduced. Some of these improvements also work on the older iPhone 3G and 2nd generation iPod Touch. iOS 4 will eventually make it to the iPad as well, although not until the fall.
The iPad iBooks app, an e-book reader, is now also available on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Books purchased in the iBooks store can be spread across each of the devices if you own more than one. Bookmarks and your place can be synced between devices as well.
Thursday morning saw huge lines at Apple stores, partially fueled by rumors of iPhone 4 shortages. But reports from around the U.S. suggest that Apple has enough on hand to fulfill all reservations, plus perhaps hundreds of walk-ins per store. Fewer reservations and no walk-ins at all were available at AT&T stores and other retailers that carried the iPhone on launch day.
The new iPhone features a front-facing second camera for video calls, a 5 megapixel camera for photos and HD video, a new design, faster processor and longer battery life.
With so many apps in the store, rarely can any one app ever be called “highly anticipated.” But that is the case with Apple’s new iMovie app. It is only for the iPhone 4, but is sure to become a must-have app for those with the new phone. Editing and uploading video is now something that no longer requires a computer.
If your contacts, events and notes are just the way you want them on your Mac, but a mess on your iPhone, then you can completely overwrite just those pieces of information on your iPhone. Use iTunes, and with your iPhone attached select it on the left and then go to the Info tab. At the bottom is a section marked “Advanced” that will let you replace information on the iPhone for the next sync only.
Apple has had a busy week setting the stage for the arrival of the iPhone 4. But its biggest announcement was that of a new Mac: a re-designed Mac mini. The new mini is shorter and wider than the old model, with the power supply inside the case, rather than in a separate unit. The most notable change is the inclusion of an HDMI video out port. This shows that Apple recognizes the mini as a in-the-living room device that people may use to hook up to televisions instead of computer screens.
The new mini also includes a mini DisplayPort video connection, an SD card slot, upgraded processor, video chipset and 2GB of RAM by default. The price has gone up, however, with the base price of $699 instead of $599. There is also a $999 version with a second hard drive in place of the optical drive and Snow Leopard Server installed.
Along with the new Mac mini is a new version of Mac OS X — version 10.6.4 — to support it. This release is for all Intel Macs, and includes numerous bug, security and performance fixes, but no notable new features. You can get the new version by using Software Update.
Also available this week is iTunes version 9.2, which will support the new iOS 4 coming out on existing iPhones on June 21 and then the iPhone 4 on June 24.
Pre-orders for the new iPhone 4 in the U.S. began on the 15th, with reports of widespread ordering troubles. Those that wanted to pre-order the iPhone were faced with error pages on both the Apple and AT&T web sites. Apple reported that 600,000 orders did get through and currently orders are being taken only for shipments in July as it appears that launch day stocks are already sold out. Many ordered an iPhone for delivery, while others did it for in-store pickup which will start at 7 a.m. in Apple stores on June 24.
Not too long ago a device like the iPad that just ran something like Google Earth would have been worth a small fortune. Now you can add Google Earth to your iPad for free. It works as you might expect, allowing you to zoom in and around the planet looking at satellite imagery, photos and information. You can get a lot of education and entertainment from this app, and kill a lot of time. This app has been around for the iPhone for a while, but the new version adds native iPad viewing as well.
The new Safari 5 includes the Reader function. A “Reader” button appears next to the URL when you are viewing a text article on a Web site. This is nice for reading the text on the screen, but also nice for printing. At the bottom of the Reader interface is a printer button. Use that to print out a nice clean version of the text without Web site navigation or ads.
Apps shown in this episode:
I’m not big on racing games, but when I saw a few appear for the iPad, I had to try them to see what they would be like on the device. Real Racing HD for the iPad blew me away. The graphics are so good and then gameplay so easy to get into . There is also a version of Real Racing for the iPhone.
You can change the default behavior of your Mac concerning DVDs in the System Preferences, CDs & DVDs pane. The last option there determines what happens when you insert a DVD. You can choose to have the DVD Player application run automatically. You can also choose to have Mac OS X ignore the DVD. You can then run the DVD Player or another application manually.
