Cuil
WALL•E
THQ have also released the game, and yes, it’s available for your Mac, alas the demo isn’t. It’s available on the Apple Store.
iPhone iPod Interface
via Daring Fireball.
Nokia N73 & Bluetooth/iSync
The N73 isn’t a bad phone, it works with iPhoto and iTunes with the Nokia Multimedia Transfer software that Nokia provide. This makes it quite easy to drag and drop music and photos onto the device and get photos off directly into iPhoto. It also can use iSync to simply sync your Address Book, Calendars etc. I think I will need a new Sim to use 3G.
You could do this either with the USB cable, or more simply with Bluetooth.
That’s the good news, now the bad:
I found the operating system very laggy (slow). So, I checked here to see if there was a newer version of the firmware.There was,version 4.0735.3.0.2.
Annoyingly, you are unble to update the firmware on a Mac, and must use a Windows PC to use Nokia Software Update (this is a story in itself, having to set up an old PC of ours purely to do this update).
I managed to update the phone which sped it up, but found it no longer worked with Bluetooth/iSync on the Mac running Mac OS 10.5.4. The phone will pair, but you get the following error in iSync (the phone is named Stuartea):
You are also unable to browse the device using Bluetooth (from the menu).
It still works with the USB cable, but you no longer have the convenience of wireless transfers.
After some searching it appears I am not the only one with the problem, there is a thread on the Nokia forums dating back to October 2007, and there is no fix from Nokia. It appears the problem is between the 4.0735.3.0.2 firmware and Mac OS 10.5, as it appears it will work with Mac OS 10.4. The older version of the firmware 3.0704.1.01 works without any problem with Mac OS 10.5, which suggests a Nokia firmware problem. The Bluetooth on the Mac works fine with the Sony Ericsson K750i.
I mailed Nokia, they suggested making sure I had the latest plug-in for iSync and to reboot the N73, and restart the Mac. I pointed out there is no plug-in for the N73, it should just work according to their own site. Neither rebooting or restarting solved the problem.
Their next response was to contact Mac [sic] at “http://www.apple.com/macosx”. Two things worried me, first they called Apple “Mac”, and secondaly they gave me an Apple product page link.
I don’t care who’s to blame, Apple or Nokia. I would expect them to work together to find a solution. Also, Nokia need to give their front-line customer teams more support, or an ability to esculate problems to their software developers, rather than through lack of knowledge try to fob customers off and give them the runaround.
Update: Okay, the latest reply from Nokia may as well have said “Thanks, we’ve filed your messages in the bin”.
There may be a solution! I just read at TUAW, that Missing Sync for Symbian has just been released. The Nokia N73 is listed as being supported.
It does add more features than you’d get with just iSync. Including Proximity Syncing, which automatically syncs your phone when it’s within Bluetooth range.
I mailed them, and they let me know there’s a demo available here.
Sadly, it didn’t work. I get the following error after it pairs:
OBEX error fileTransferServicesDisconnectionComplete kOBEXSessionTransportDiedError| kOBEXSessionNoTransportError| kOBEXSessionNotConnectedError: -21880.
The Bluetooth icons on both the phone and menu indicate it’s attempting to do something, but gets no further.
This is what Mark/Space makers of The Missing Sync have told me:
“There is an issue with this device and with that new firmware.
It seems with the new firmware and Leopard there is an issue.
However with Tiger and the new firmware it works fine.
We are currently documenting this behavior and will
be posted in our Knowledgebase...”
Which they have done, here.
Maybe it might shame Nokia/Apple into fixing it? (but I doubt it).
Update: According to a post by uiterlix on the Nokia forum. There is a new version of the firmware available that does work with Mac OS X 10.5. Version 4.0839.42.2.1. However; I’ve not found where to download it. 17th December 2008
iTunes 7.7
“Use iTunes 7.7 to sync music, video, and more with iPhone 3G, and download applications from the iTunes Store exclusively designed for iPhone and iPod touch with software version 2.0 or later. Also use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home — a free download from the App Store.”
Check Off
How to change the System Preferences icon
Maybe you prefer the old
icon?
You many want to change
your icons, especially ones in your dock, but one is
rather stubborn; the System
Preferences icon. Even though
it’s a standard application, you can’t just
change the icon as you would any other. I’d
normally just use the great free app.
LiteIcon to change icons likes
these, but for some reason it doesn’t appear
as one of the choices. It does appear in
Candybar, but Candybar costs.
Thankfully, I’ve worked out how you can do it
quite easily, without messing about in Terminal (there
may be some simpler way I’ve missed of course):
In the Applications
Folder,
select System
Preferences
From the File
menu, select
Get info, or the keyboard shortcut, Command+i
You may need to click the Padlock
icon at the
bottom right to unlock it by entering your admin.
password.
At the bottom of the window you will see
Sharing
& Permissions
Click the + (plus button)
Pick your user name in the list that appears and
click Select.
Your name will then appear along with the others in the
list
Next to your name, on the right under
Privilege,
change Read Only
to
Read &
Write
Highlight your name again and select the
Cog
button at the
bottom (to the right of + & -)
From the pop up menu, choose: Make "Your name (Me)"
the owner.
Where “Your
name” is your
user name.
You will then be able to change the System Preference
Icon in the normal way.
If you don’t know how to do that, see this
link.
After you’ve changed it, you can highlight the
system name in the list, select the Cog
button once
again, and set it as the owner. You can then highlight
your own name in the list and press the - (minus)
button to remove yourself.
There, your icon has changed - if not, just drag it out
of the dock, and drag it back in again.