Hans Across The Interwebs

The 3G iphone is on the way and I want one. But please let all the cruel rumors stop until its here. I can’t concentrate like this.

Did it all start with Kevin Rose’s rumor that 3G iphones would not be far away and would feature a camera on the front for Video chat? His predictions have been hit or miss in the past. Still, sometimes ‘hit’. It could be true. We want it to be true.

In fact so much so, that suddenly all kinds of evidence has started to appear that a 3G iphone can’t be far off. Lo and Behold: iPhones are all but sold out in New York Apple stores, according to the Huffington Post.. A sure sign that Apple is getting ready to replace it with a newer version, right?

Well, maybe. But maybe not.

While thoughts of 3G second generation iPhones dance in consumer’s heads because limited product supply could be an indicator that new iPhone models are about to be released, the lack of product might also be a side effect of production or shipping delays.

Then there was the Wired story that Apple had already ordered 10 million 3G iphones.

Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney has joined in the rumor-mongering, saying that Apple has in fact already placed an order for 10 million of these second-generation iPhones. That’s in addition to the 10 million v.1 iPhones Apple has ordered, he says.

While Dulaney doesn’t give a specific timeframe for its release, he does claim Apple moved up its iPhone v.2 release mainly to help spur on iPhone uptake in places like Europe, where slow sales have been attributed to the phone’s distinct lack of 3-Gness.

Well that rumor is obviously false, since not even 10 million of the version 1 have been sold as of yet.

The argument about European users certainly does make sense. The original iPhone is available in most European countries - either legitimately or through clandestine means. But I’m certainly not replacing my 3G, 5 megapixel cameraphone WITH video chat until the iPhone can give me at least a comparable experience. Okay I’ll take 3 megapixels, but not a pixel less. And 3G is definitely a minimum requirement now, though I won’t be disappointed if it’s not exactly 250Mbps.

One thing is for sure, absolutely everyone is now convinced the iPhone is a viable platform. The introduction of the Software Development Kit (SDK) has silenced critics that the beautificious machine was too proprietary, and has instead made them download the SDK more than 100.000 times.

In fact, even Microsoft is now contemplating developing applications for the iPhone. Then again, when Microsoft comtemplates - they tend to take their time.

So it looks like the biggest product of 2007, is shaping up to also be the biggest product of 2008. Props to Apple for great product design and even greater marketing and PR.

I’m wondering though if a 3G iPhone will spur a replacement cycle - especially since at least in the US there’s 2 year contract attached to every iPhone. Or is the 3G iPhone most importantly an international play as predicted by Gartner?

I’ll tell you this. Apple better hurry it up, because I’m sure these rumors aren’t helping sales of poor old version 1. And: if a 3G, 32Gb, 3 megapixel iPhone came out - I’d own one the very same day. What about you? Would you buy one, or if you own one would you replace it?

I guess if you’re a developer, this is really amazing.

Run Internet Explorer on Your Mac with ies4osx [Featured Mac Download]: “Mac OS X only: Install and run Internet Explorer for Windows 5, 6, or 7 on your Mac with free, open source application ies4osx. “

via Lifehacker

I’m a quite recent mac switcher. I bought my first Macbook last year but ended up installing Windows on it. To be perfectly honest, I went mac because of the great design in that small form factor of the 13″ Macbook. Yummy! I suppose it’s a bit of a cliche. I bought my first apple product a few years ago: the 60gb iPod Photo. And it was great even though iTunes on Windows is a dog.

So I stayed loyal to Windows for a while, but OSX was calling. Slowly but surely I started using it more often. Not in the least because I’d upgraded to Windows Vista which was slow and a terrible battery hog. A few months ago I decided to completely take the plunge and switch completely to Mac by buying a cool MacBook Pro at 2.4Ghz with 4Gb. Switching wasn’t easy…saying goodbye to all my trusted tools. But it’s done.

I’ve had to invest a bit: Mac software is great but it’s not quite as often completely free as it is on Windows. But now that I’m done…I’m much happier with my Mac than I ever was with my PC. OS X will let you tweak, or so it seems, you system to exactly what you need. There seems to be a better ‘cross application’ integration. That leaves more room for developers to develop best-of-breed applications that do one thing, and do it really well.

In the end, switching to Mac hasn’t been about ‘getting what I had on Windows in a prettier package’. It’s been about leveraging the power of a more flexible, more tweak-able and arguably more robust system.

I still own a PC. I use it for games. But my Windows Desktop looks foreign to me now. I’m officially a mac guy.

This can’t last long: I’m so incredibly online right now it would make any normal person vomit and pass out.

I’ve found a plugin for Quicksilver called “Twaiku”. It posts your shorts to Twitter and Jaiku simultaneously. Plus it’s faster than anything else for posting to either service anyway, so it’s a double win.

If your on OSX, get Quicksilver. Then get Twaiku.

Of you’re not on OSX, well you’re just plain out of luck.

Leopard 10.5.1 is now available: “Apple just pushed out its first update for the new OS, 10.5.1.”

(Via Engadget.)

If you’re not a quicksilver user, you should be.

For Windows users, try Launchy. It’s okay too, though not as full featured as QS. You’ll wonder how you ever lived without. Seriously.

Top 10 Quicksilver Plug-ins [Lifehacker Top 10]: “Open source Mac utility Quicksilver isn’t just an application launcher—it’s a comprehensive keyboard interface. Launching applications and documents is just Quicksilver’s gateway drug: The more you get used to doing things with Quicksilver, the more things you want to do with it. Out of the box Quicksilver comes with the barest essentials, but once you add the right plug-ins that interact with menus, apps, documents, and settings, you can accomplish more and more complex tasks from that familiar three-paned prompt.”

(Via Lifehacker.)

Okay, so if your ipod Touch isn’t syncing properly with iCal and your calendars aren’t showing up in iTunes, here’s what to do:

1. Go to iCal and Backup your calendars (under ‘file’)

2. Quit iCal and iTunes

3. Delete the following files if they exist:

~\library\preferences\com.apple.iCal.AlarmScheduler.plist

~\library\preferences\com.apple.iCal.helper.plist

~\library\preferences\com.apple.iCal.plist

4. Delete the entire contents of

~\library\application support\iCal

5. Open iCal and restore your calendars (under ‘file’)

In my case this made everything work properly.

Well I don’t actually use Outlook, but this might work for mail.app as well. The IMAP implementation of Gmail is very slow and constantly syncing different stuff due to the folders/tags discrepancy. It gets to pretty unusable sometimes.

Speed Up Gmail IMAP with Outlook [Microsoft Outlook Tip]: “By setting Outlook to download message headers only, retrieve new messages less frequently, and work offline, your Gmail in Outlook experience can be smoother and faster. What Gmail/IMAP/Outlook techniques are working for you? Let us know in the comments.”

The first thing I definitely recommend is not to sync up the local and gmail draft folders. When you write it’ll continually update your drafts folder and it’ll also somehow fill your gmail with parts of your drafts.

One setting I’ll try to to not store any attachments locally. It’s under the account settings. See if that’ll help.

(Via Lifehacker.)

Boy opening up my news reader today I’m blinded by the All Leopard All The Time News coverage. I won’t do the same, but I will remark that since the release of leopard I’ve been gradually getting software updates for a lot of the little mac programs I’m running. But to be honest, I’ve only had real problems with Quicksilver (already updated) and the last.fm plugin (not updated yet) so far.

My only little gripe so far: how do I get rid of the .mac icon in the menu bar. I don’t use .mac!

Daring Fireball doesn’t understand that the whole reason for TimeMachine is not to have a bootable clone, but to have different older versions of all files available. Hence TIMEmachine. It’s much more than just a regular backup. Even a deleted file can be found, which is not the case with ‘normal’ backup solutions.

Time Machine Backups Are Not Bootable: “Time Machine does not create a bootable clone of your system, and in cases of catastrophic drive failure, a bootable clone is exactly the thing you need.”

(Via Daring Fireball.)