Taiwanese iPhone hints at carrier freedom
A new service package announced for the Taiwanese iPhone may suggest that Apple is allowing more freedom when it comes to carrier personalization. Local carrier Chunghwa Telecom has revealed the existence of Hami, a set of free services intended specifically for iPhone owners. People will have access to 11 services in total, including special news, weather and stock market trackers, as well as a...
published on Friday, the 21. November 2008, macintosh-news-network
Mobispine making Telia MMS app for iPhone?
The identity of TeliaSonera's MMS application for the iPhone may have already been revealed, an announcement hints. Mobispine has announced the creation of what it calls the "world's first true MMS for the iPhone;" critically, the software relies on the actual MMS protocol instead of a substitute, such as a text message with an embedded URL. The company is also based in Sweden like Telia, and is...
published on Thursday, the 20. November 2008, macintosh-news-network
Optimus AUX gets prototype, tentative price
Art Lebedev Studio's namesake founder today noted that the company's Optimus AUX keyboard has been turned into a final prototype that hints at the production model. The 15-key OLED pad will use an anodized aluminum case and should have the same key style as the full-size Optimus Maximus. The AUX is a balance between the Maximus and the basic Mini-Three and is meant for content editors or frequen...
published on Tuesday, the 18. November 2008, macintosh-news-network
Apple job listing hints at iPhone nearing China launch
A single listing on the Apple's career pages suggests the company has pledged itself to releasing the iPhone in China, one of its most elusive markets.
published on Thursday, the 13. November 2008, appleinsider
iPhone apps: Crystals, FotoTimer, PoetrySinger
Crystals ($2) is a recreation of the classic game Mastermind for the iPhone. Players attempt to place crystals in the correct order to unlock the pirate code. After each guess they are given a few hints which help them narrow down the proper code. The speed in which a user is able to crack the code determines their pirate rank and users can customize the settings to create a difficulty they are co...
published on Thursday, the 13. November 2008, macintosh-news-network
10.5: Run Automator workflows from AppleScript
A couple of older hints, such as this one and this one, discuss running Automator workflows from AppleScript. Leopard, however, has built-in Automator support on the Unix command line, which can be called from AppleScript using the do shell script construct. This method also allows passing input values and variables to the workflow. The basic form of the command is: automator [-i inputs] [-D variables] /Path/to/WorkflowThe -i option provides a list of inputs for the workflow, and the -D option allows temporary setting of workflow variables.The trick to using this technique, however, is that the list of inputs (and assumedly the list of variables, though that's n...
published on Thursday, the 13. November 2008, macosxhints
How to downgrade to an older version of MySQL
I run a number of web apps here in the house -- a copy of the macosxhints.com site, for instance, where I can experiment with changes before making them on the live site. I recently got rid of the machine I was using to host these sites, and migrated everything over to the Mac Pro. As part of that process, I had to install MySQL, which is basically a very simple operation. Just download the proper package from their downloads page, and run the installer.When I did this, though, I didn't notice that the default download is MySQL version 5; for compatibility reasons, I actually wanted MySQL 4.1. Unfortunately, I got all the way through the install before I noticed that I had installed version 5. So I removed the MySQL 5 files in /usr/local, downloaded the 4.1 version, and ran its installer. Unfortunately, the installer told me I couldn't install 4.1, as I already had a newer version of ...
published on Wednesday, the 12. November 2008, macosxhints
BlackBerry Storm leak hints pricier than iPhone
Verizon's adaptation of the BlackBerry Storm could cost more than its Apple rival when it finally becomes available, a page (since pulled) on Verizon's test website has revealed. The first touchscreen phone from RIM will reportedly cost $220 with a two-year contract versus Apple's $199 iPhone 3G. The price represents a partly negative trade-off where the reduction in storage from the iPhone's 8G...
published on Tuesday, the 11. November 2008, macintosh-news-network
Fix apparently-corrupted PDF attachments in Mail
Lately I'd been having trouble with PDF attachments in Mail -- but only on my MacBook Pro. Instead of seeing a preview of the PDF in the message, I'd see a small black square, maybe 10x10 pixels in size. If I tried to avoid the problem by saving the PDF, the resulting file couldn't be opened in either Preview or Reader; I'd get an error message saying the PDF was corrupt. However, the very same message on my Mac Pro (using IMAP on both Macs, with the message in the inbox) worked perfectly, so I knew it wasn't a problem with the message itself.After pulling my hair out for a while (no luck with Google searches, no Mail plug-ins on either machine, etc.), occasional macosxhints editor Kirk McElhearn suggested a solution that I hadn't even considered: rebuilding the mailbox on the MacBook Pro. Sure enough, after selecting Mailbox » Rebuild, all the troublesome PDF attachments were magically resolved -- previewing and saving both work as ex...
published on Monday, the 10. November 2008, macosxhints
Remembering Michael Crichton
I was very saddened today to read of the passing of Michael Crichton. What, you may ask, does this have to do with macosxhints.com? More than you might think -- Michael was a big-time Mac user and early OS X adopter (rare for someone who relied on their machine to make a living!).Back in 2001, when this site was just a time-intensive hobby, I didn't have any ads, and relied on donations to cover my hosting costs. Michael Crichton was one of the early donors, and in addition to his check, he sent me a very nice card and autographed book.His passing today hit me pretty hard, and the best way I could think to handle it was to write about what he meant to me, both personally and relative to this site's history. So rest in peace, Michael -- you entertained millions, and you will be missed.-rob.
published on Wednesday, the 5. November 2008, macosxhints