Alright, that’s SEGA’s slogan back in the days, but this is what the Mac App Store is, the next step in how we find and consume apps. With the introduction of iTunes, Apple changed the way we find and consume media. Then with the iPhone/iPod/iPad App Store they changed, well actually created, the platform for mobile applications. Now they are doing it again, the Mac App Store is going to change the way we look for and purchase actual programs for computers. The store is setup very similarly to the already familiar iTunes/App Store, and prices are also comparable. This not only makes it easy for users, but also creates a streamlined distribution platform for developers. I don’t like to sound like a fanboy, but I have to say it.  This is going to be a game changer.

What are your thoughts?

UPDATE The final answer on why some see the drop and some don’t.

Let’s review Apple’s responses to this problem since the launch. First Apple was claming the signal issue was just an incorrect display of the signal bars. I can confirm that it’s not just a display issue, my 3G data speed drops to almost nothing when my signal drops in my left hand.  I guess Apple already moved on from this excuse, because then Steve, via email, said we were all holding our phone wrong and that it happens to all mobile phones. Although this is technically true, I’ve never owned a mobile phone that I could touch in one spot with the tip of my pinky finger and disable the phone’s network connection. I guess Steve finally came around to this realization. In his latest email he said there is no is no signal problem and to “stay tuned”.

At first I doubted it was even possible, but the rumors are building that a software fix is coming…as early as today. Even though hard for me to believe, I guess there is still a chance. They were able to fix the 3G reception issues with a software patch. So what could Apple do via software to fix what seems like a hardware problem? I have 2 3 layman’s guesses, one of which I don’t know is even technically possible, but still worth tossing it out there.

Boost the Signal Power

This may be a good quick fix. When the signal starts to drop due to the hand position, boost the power to overcome the drop. This is what would happen in a weaker 3G area so it might work. Although, if this is a problem of shorting antennas then boosting the power might just boost a crappy signal and not fix the issue.

UPDATE Seems like this could possibly be a fix. Taking a look at a clip from a Nokia manual below (@tj via @MikeTRose) it warns that contacting the antenna may cause the device to operate at a higher power level than otherwise needed and can reduce battery life.

Move the Output Zone on the Antenna

Maybe they could somehow move where the main power output on the antenna comes from. So if your hand is blocking the lower left they could move the output to the lower right which is still part of the GSM antenna.  This would still satisfy the FCC requirement to keep the output signal as far away from the brain as possible. Again, if this is some kind of shorting as some people have speculated, would it matter if it was moved to the right since the short would still exist?

Change new iPhone smart tower/ channel selection

David Pogue:

The new phone is also better at choosing the best channel for connecting with the cell tower, even if’s not technically the strongest one. (Ever had four bars, but a miserable connection? Then you get it.)

This has come up in my testing. I’ve held the phone in my left, watched the signal drop to 1 or 2 bars, and then did a speed test that trumped my best speeds on the 3GS confirming this new update. If only this was always the case…a lot of the time I have 1 bar and can’t even get past the ping test in the Speedtest.net app. Looks the iPhone 4 isn’t falling back to the closest tower even when the signal degrades on the “better connection”. Could this be the fix?

Hopefully we should find out if Apple is able to pull it off later today. Do you guys have any ideas of how this could be done? Crazy ideas like mine or someone that actually knows what they are talking about? If so, leave a comment.

Gruber fit the following tweet into his stream tonight, in between the Gizmodo/Gawker tweets:

Sorry, I’m too busy with this Gizmodo/Gawker legal thing to coyly hint that WWDC will be announced tomorrow.

For Gruber to say this, I think it’s 100% guaranteed. Now the question is when will it be? I’m going with June 15th, but I’m wrong 100% the time.

Thanks to a tip from a reader, it has come to our attention that Mac OS X Snow Leopard has reached Gold Master status and somehow got leaked… According to Mac4Ever (found through Redmond Pie via Mac Rumors) the leaked build is 10A432 which they are saying is the final version. This seems plausible as we are in mid August and the release is scheduled for sometime in September.

Now, we are not sure if the leaked file is the real thing or not…  I wouldn’t download it, but if you insist in doing it here is the link our tipster sent us… Do it at your own risk… But come on, don’t be a cheapass Snow Leopard is retailing for $29… Just wait for it…

Looks like Apple’s promise to deliver Snow Leopard in September is on target. Amazon is now listing various versions of Snow Leopard for preorder including family pack and server versions. For $29, it’s definitely worth upgrading! Don’t want to spend the $29 bucks?  …then take a guess in our Snow Leopard poll for your chance to win a copy.

Also, if you click our Amazon links and order we get a few bucks, which will help support our giveaways.

(via @9to5mac)

3.1 beta 3 is now available to developers, one day earlier than I was guessing. Most of the betas released this year have come out on a Tuesday and pretty much followed a 2 week release cycle…this was no different with the the 3.1 betas until today.

Apple also included a note that the current 3.1 beta 2 will be expiring July 28 at 12:00am which is less than 12 hours away for us on the east coast…unless of course they mean tomorrow night which would technically be July 29 at midnight. Maybe this Monday release was becuase they made a mistake with the expiration date and needed to get something out before they bricked a bunch of dev devices? Maybe they were expecting to have a GM out last week? Who knows, but if you are on 3.1 beta 2 you better get this installed ASAP.

Take your best guess when 3.1 will be released to the public in our when will iPhone 3.1 firmware be released for a chance to win a $50 iTunes gift card!

What Changed

1. You can now copy / paste videos into email like pictures, previously you could only use the share option which would compress the video to a lower resolution. I was able to copy, paste, and email a 33 second / 14.7MB file through gmail. I got the file at the full 640×480 / 30fps. Sending the same file via the share function yield a file size of 3.21MB at the compressed 480×320 / 30fps.
   UPDATE There does seem to be a limit on what you can paste into the email though.  When trying videos over 1 min I was still able to copy, but when pasting nothing would show up.
   UPDATE 2 Looks like the limit is 15MB. I wonder if this is a setting in place due to concerns from at&t and their precious bandwidth?
   UPDATE 3 The 15MB is in place for images as well. I just tried sending 20 images and it only pasted in the first 18 which came out to the 14.7MB, the same size as the video that pasted above.
   
2. Usage now shows separate “Cellular Network Data” and “Tethering Data”. This is on a standard 3.1 beta 3 install, no hacks.
   
3. iPhone no longer vibrates when going into the edit home screen icon mode (via ispazio)

What hasn’t?

1. Still no AVRCP bluetooth support
2. MMS functionality still included, but nothing has changed on at&t’s end (not working yet)

In the 2 week fashion we saw a lot of the 3.0 betas Apple today has released 3.1 beta 2.

Will update this post as more information becomes available…

What changed

1. Non-destructive video button names changed to Trim Original and Save as New Clip, this should help clear up the confusion caused by the original names Save and Save a Copy
   
2. According to Ars Technica developers can now work with an iPhone wirelessly (WIFI) instead of having to connect it to their development computer via USB
3. TUAW is reporting that the tether hack no longer works

What we didn’t get

1. Bluetooth still don’t support AVRCP, so no iPod app track control.
2. MMS still included, but still doesn’t work on at&t

UPDATE 5.16.09 After doing a test while running I did get it to break up a little bit so I guess it’s not perfect, but at this point I’m not sure if it’s the iPhone or the headphones. Either way in a 9 min jog it only broke up a few times for just a sec or two so it was still very usable unlike beta 4.  While walking with it in my pocket I was still unable to get it to break up at all.

Not much changed in beta 5, but a big update for me is I can now use my S9-HDs I bought to test when 3.0 beta was first released. After writing about my first impression of A2DP I’ve been testing against each new beta. The audio skiping and sound quality issues improved with each update, but the issue with the audio cutting in and out when using the headset outside (seemed like a bad bluetooth connection) remained in my last A2DP update. One beta later and the problem is solved! I’m now able to use the S9-HDs when jogging, guess I have to start working out more now.

Also, beta 5 is the first beta where Apple requires all new apps to be 3.0 compaitble. So it looks like if this isn’t the final beta, there probably aren’t going to be too many more before it’s released to the public…which is making me think they may release 3.0 firmware before releasing the 3rd gen iPhone.

iTunes 8.2 Pre-release

This is a pre-release version of iTunes 8.2. You must download and install iTunes 8.2 pre-release in order to activate iPhone OS 3.0 beta 4 on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Pretty neat stuff here, stay tuned for more info…

What’s New?

1. Store placeholder setting now active. After login, it opens a simple non app looking web page which allows you to edit your account and payment info.

2. iTunes sync for notes now requires OSX version 10.5.7 if you’re on a Mac, PC still works fine with Outlook.