I have compiled my list of wishes for the refresh (I dub it iPhone 4G, even though most mobile networks are only 3.5G ready)

1. Up to 128GB storage
2. 1GB RAM
3. 1GHz CPU
4. Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX545 mobile GPU
5. 802.11n WiFi
6. (4G LTE)
7. 5MP Camera, with LED flash and camera capable of recording 720p videos
8. Forward facing camera for 3G video calls or IP video calls, maybe HD too?
9. LED/OLED LCD Screen with higher resolution, perhaps 800 x 640 like the Nexus One
10. Improved battery life

Software Updates (4.0)

1. Multi tasking (let us decide whether we wan’t to enable this and pay in terms of worse battery life)
2. Allow video apps (Slingplayer) access to the 3G network.
3. iPhone Messaging Service (iMS) (free iPhone-to-iPhone) app similar to Blackberry Messaging Service. If you have a contacts mobile number, then you can iMS them.

We’re nearly 6 months away from the (dead-cert) annual iPhone refresh in June 2010, so would it be a wise and calculated move to hold fire on an upgrade or new purchase until then? We’ll look at both sides of the argument.

Buy an iPhone 3GS now!

For consumers without an iPhone it is difficult to convince you not to get an iPhone as soon as. The increased functionality the iPhone will give you over your old device will more than pay for the contract (and phone) price. After a couple of weeks of use, you will soon wonder how you coped with your old phone – be it a Blackberry, Samsung, Nokia or Sony Ericcson that the iPhone replace.

Cutting Edge Features:

• 3MP camera/ video camera
• 3.5G HSPDA 7.2Mbps
• Compass combined with GPS, Google Maps and Google Street View – a winning combination!
• App Store…100,000 Apps and counting.

But wait 7 months and you might get an iPhone 4G!?:

• More memory, 32GB might go to 64GB? With all those Apps/ SatNav/ Videos/ Music/ Movies, you will soon run out of memory with the 32GB iPhone 3GS
• Quicker network – will we see WiMAX or LTE 4th Generation Radio Technologies? Theoretical speeds of 172Mb/s download, 86Mb/s upload, (we’ll never see those speeds though!). Also there are hardly any 4G networks around.
• Faster processor using less energy. With Intel developing smaller nano metre processors that consume fractions of the power, Apple might look to change their iPhone’s CPU with Intel’s variety – following the Mac’s lead. More power – less energy.
• OLED Screen – Vivid colours, lower electical consumption

Exciting possibility!

Apple is unlikely to add all of those on the wish list, but the technology is there, so it isn’t impossible to do. It will come down to price, space and battery performance at the end of the day, and hopefully Apple will work its magic to make it all happen.

There is no questions that the Apple iPhone is THE phone to have in its extensive functionality, looks, and overall appeal. However Apple need to remain at the cutting edge of mobile phone design, not simply add more memory, and odd features here and there as they did with the iPhone 3GS from the iPhone 3G; they will soon loose out to the likes of Google Andriod devices on this front if they do this.

The agreement allows Vodafone to sell the iPhone from early 2010, later than Orange who are anticipated to ship devices before Christmas.

The opening up of the exclusivity will undoubtedly spur price wars between the different carriers, and also demonstrate who’s network more importantly can cope with the huge spike in mobile data usage.

From the face of it, Orange’s network looks to have the most extensive 3G network out of the three network operators; and when it has completed its merger with T-Mobile, they will arguably have the best network coverage for any phone let alone the iPhone.

Watch this space.

Click continue reading to find out how to install iTunes 9 on Windows Server 2003/ SP1/ SP2.

Most of the problems stemmed from iPodService.exe, a service that automatically detects your iPod/ iPhone when plugged in, and then can automatically launch iTunes for synchronisation. Even if you don’t want to enable this activity by default, as will probably be the case on a server, there is no option for omitting this during installation of iTunes 9, or indeed previous versions.

Symptons

During installation, or upgrading to iTunes 9, quite near the end of the installation, you encounter an error indicating that the iPod Service cannot start due to possible permissions problems or something else similar. What actually is happening is that iPodService.exe is being started, but as the new program is incompatible with Windows Server 2003, it immediately crashes, and hence the installer thinks that it isn’t starting.

You can verify this by navigating to the iPod installtion directory e.g. C:\Program Files\iPod\iPodService.exe. With the Windows Task Manager open, sorted by name, scroll down to names starting with ‘I’. Then click and run the iPodService.exe manually. You will notice it runs momentarily, but then crashes. A quick look in the event viewer and this will confirm there is a problem.

Resolution

1. Before installing iTunes 9, and whilst you are still using iTunes 8, shut down iTunes, and all iTunes related services. The easiest way of doing this is to open the Windows Task Manager and ending the processes of every iTunes program/ service. iTunes.exe, iTunesHelper.exe, iPodService.exe.
2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\iPod\. In here COPY all files to a temporary directory called v8. You will need to copy iPodService.exe file and iPodService.Resources folder.
3. Following my previous Installing iTunes on Windows Server 2003 post, modify the .msi files to allow the installer to run on a Windows Server. (Otherwise you will receive errors like “this program cannot run on this operating system”…
4. Run the installer for iTunes 9.
5. When the installer fails, relating to the iPodService problem, navigate to C:\Program Files\iPod\, CUT the iPodService.exe and iPodService.Resources items and paste them in a folder called v9.
6. Now open the v8 folder, COPY all the files, iPodService.exe and iPodService.Resources into the root of the C:\Program Files\iPod folder. (Replace the v9 files if you didn’t CUT them.)
7. Now click retry in the installer.
8. Installer finishes.
9. iTunes 9 is installed!

Known potential problems

1. As far as I am aware this fix does not allow iPod/ iPhone connectivity to this computer. This is because the v8 version is incompatible with the v9. I could be wrong though? Update someone has pointed out to me that they are able to connect their iPod to the Windows Server after this.

More Help

If you encounter any sort of problems with this fix, please use the comment system below, and I will try to reply and help you. I cannot make any promises. Please give a valid email address so that I can reply to you.

Disclaimer

(This tip is provided AS-IS and without any warranty/ support/ help. MS9 does not accept any responsibility for data loss, corruption, or other negative system behaviour as a result of following any of the steps listed above. MS9 also does not accept any responsibility for you manipulating with Apple Software that could contravene Apple’s software agreements or IP.)

Update: iTunes 9.0 breaks this fix, so please follow the latest post on how to get iTunes 9 installed on Windows Server 2003.

Well, there is a work around or hack for those people who are fairly technically minded, and don’t mind changing a few settings.

Scenario:

• To allow users to browse your server’s shared music in iTunes over the network.
• Use your iPhone or iPod Touch to act as a remote control (using the free App) to control the speakers connected to your Server, or control your remote AirTunes speakers connected to an AirPort Express.

Prerequisites

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (may work on 2008 server also?)
• Sound card with something plugged into the headphone/ speaker socket)

Instructions Part 1

• Download and save iTunesSetup.exe from here to a folder
• Download and install WinRAR from here. This is required to dissect the .exe file into the component .msi files
• After installing WinRAR, locate the iTunesSetup.exe file, right-click on it, hover over WinRAR, and click Extract to iTunesSetup\
• You should then see a folder called iTunesSetup
• Inside this you should see a number of .msi files perhaps including: AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi, AppleSoftwareUpdate.msi, Bonjour.msi, iTunes.msi, MobileMe.msi, QuickTime.msi, SetupAdmin.exe

You have now downloaded the iTunes software. The problem we have now is that if we now try and install any one of these packages (.msi’s), we get operating system incompatibility warnings. This is because Apple have coded into their installer programs that their software is only to be installed on certain operating systems to prevent possible incompatibilities.

Therefore we need to remove these operating system options from the .msi files using a Microsoft SDK application.

Instructions Part 2

• Download the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 from here
• In the installation do not download and install every option (1.5GB +). Only select the W32 Components (15MB ish).
• Once this has downloaded and installed successfully, we then need to browse into the SDK’s bin folder in a directory similar to this: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1\Bin
• In there you will see a file called Orca.msi. Install this.

Instructions Final Part

• Run Orca from the Start Menu
• Now open each one of the Apple .msi files from Orca in turn
• In the left hand section, scroll down to the LaunchCondition table.
• On the right hand side, you will notice information relating to the operating system. E.g. for the AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi file I see (VersionNT=501 And ServicePackLevel>=2) Or VersionNT>=600 and its description: [ProductName] requires that your computer is running Windows XP SP2 or newer.
  For iTunes.msi I see: ((VersionNT=501 AND ServicePackLevel>=2) OR VersionNT>501
  Basically delete any row under the LaunchCondition table that contains “VersionNT”, “ServicePackLevel” etc…
• This is the information that needs removing, so click on the row, and press delete on your keyboard.
• Once deleted, click save from the top menu.
• Now, open each .msi file, browser to the LaunchCondition table on the left, and delete any information relating to the operating system, then click save, untill all .msi files have been modified.

Once you have modified each .msi file, you can then begin the installation of which every program you want installing. For instance, if this was iTunes, then double-click and install iTunes.msi.

Hopefully this has worked for you. If not, or you want further help, please contact me using the comments form below. Good luck!

(This tip is provided AS-IS and without any warranty/ support/ help. MS9 does not accept any responsibility for data loss, corruption, or other negative system behaviour as a result of following any of the steps listed above. MS9 also does not accept any responsibility for you manipulating with Apple Software that could contravene Apple’s software agreements or IP.)

Also added to the store is a new version of the Mac Box Set. This includes Snow Leopard, iWork ‘09 and iLife ‘09. This retails for £129/$169 USD inc shipping

Snow Leopard Details:

• Ships on 28th August
• Single Pack £25 – Free Shipping
• Family Pack (5 installations) £39 – Free Shipping
• Upgrade from 10.5.x only (Leopard)
• Earlier versions have to upgrade to 10.5 (Leopard) first

More information after the break.

Snow Leopard New Features

• Faster, better, easier: Installation quicker, 7GB lighter on the HDD, dozens of refinements
• 64-bit support
• Grand Central Dispatch
• OpenCL
• QuickTime X
• Microsoft Exchange 2007 out of the box support

Apple Max Box Set includes:

• Snow Leopard – OS X 10.6
• iWork ‘09
• iLife ‘09

Apple Snow Leopard Site
Buy Apple Snow Leopard in the UK
Buy Apple Snow Leopard in the US
Buy Apple Mac Box Set in the US
Buy Apple Max Box Set in the UK

Most people believe that this will be the time for the arrival of Snow Leopard to the store, a slightly earlier date than the original announcement at the WWDC in June (September).

It is unlikely that Apple would be releasing some un-heard, un-announced tech such as an Apple Tablet computer, or upgraded iPod Touch without a major conference of some description. So the most likely thing to arrive at the store is Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6).

Apple Store US
Apple Store UK

The update updates the Seagate 500GB (ST9500420ASG) & 320GB 7,200RPM hard drive’s firmware from 0006APM2 to 0007APM2.

1. The update downloads a small program into your Applications -> Utilities folder where you run it.
2. It then requests for a restart, which occurs.
3. Upon boot up, when you normally see the Apple logo, you will see a picture of a hard drive and a status bar which goes across and completes.
4. The MacBook then switches off.
5. Upon turning your MacBook on again, the hard drive is updated.

See all the screen shots and more info by reading more….

Firmware update fix the problem?

Most people over at the Apple Discussions Forums shortly after the update was released have reported that they haven’t experienced any of the click, beep, freeze problems so far. However it is early days. This is just a few hours from the release, so we will start to see the true difference over the course of the rest of the week.

People have also noted that there system appears smoother and quicker – this is something that I personally have experienced. It seems as thought the boot time is faster, and the login time too.

Sudden Motion Sensor

For those people that disabled this when trying to find a fix, perhaps we should now re-enable this to protect us. It has been mentioned that the ST9500420ASG Seagate 500GB 7,200RPM hard drive features a G-force sensor in-built, however it is unclear as to whether Apple have disabled this with their own firmware revisions?

Some pictures of the Apple Hard Drive Firmware Update 2.0 For June 2009 MacBooks

BEFORE – (note old 0006AMP2 firmware)

The hard drive update program located in Applications -> Utilities after you have downloaded the update from Apple.

AFTER – (note the new 0007APM2 firmware)

]]> http://www.ms9.co.uk/index.php/2009/08/apple-release-hard-drive-firmware-update-for-june-2009-macbooks/feed/ 1 http://www.ms9.co.uk/index.php/2009/08/apple-macbook-pro-click-beep-freeze-problem-apple-acknowledgment/ http://www.ms9.co.uk/index.php/2009/08/apple-macbook-pro-click-beep-freeze-problem-apple-acknowledgment/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:47:24 +0000 admin http://www.ms9.co.uk/?p=216 Already we have seen CNET and other news outlet report that Apple are indeed fully aware and striving to come up with a fix for the infamous, annoying hard drive click, beep, freeze problem. Bill Evans, and Apple representative made these comments 10th August some 2 months after the initial comments appeared on the Apple Discussion Forums. It would be an understatement to call Apple’s response time slow.

Today, 17th August, a member of the Apple Discussion Forums “harryfear” has somehow managed to find out whats inside an internal Apple memo that describes the problem.

“MACBOOK PRO GENERAL MID 2009 – BEEP OR CHIRP SOUNDS FORM THE HARD DRIVE
THIS IS A PART OF THE DRIVE’S NORMAL OPERATION THAT SHOULD NOT EFFECT PERFORMANCE OR RELIABILITY.
SLIGHT DELAY CAUSED WITH CHIRP/BEEP NOISE WHEN THE ISSUE OCCURS.
THIS IS NORMAL AND OCCURS WHEN THE HARD DRIVE’S HEADS ARE PARKED TO SAVE ENERGY.
APPLE ARE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND ARE PREPARING A SPECIAL FIRMWARE UPDATE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
13TH AUGUST 2009
HIGH PRIORITY”

Obviously this information cannot be verified that easily, but it does go along with common impressions and opinion on what Apple are doing.

The Ridiculous Parts

• “Normal Operation”
• “Should not affect performance or reliability”
• “This is normal”
• “…to save energy”
• “13th August” – 2 months later!!

How do Apple keep coming top of customer support awards?

Current Options and Pricing as of 17/08/09

• UK and Ireland – £59.99
• Western Europe – £79.99
• U.S. and Canada – £59.99
• Australia – £44.99
• New Zealand – £54.99

As reported by Engadget,  Recombu posted the following intriguing first review of the software. Click below to view more…

TomTom Car Handsfree Kit

There is still no word on when the TomTom Car Handsfree kit will be released, although pricing is said to be around the £115 mark. Once you add the cost of the TomTom iPhone Navigation Software and the TomTom Car Handsfree kit, you are nearly up to the latest TomTom Go 7/9xx price. However, the iPhone solution is much much better than yet another gadget performing one very specific task. With the iPhone you have your mobile phone, internet, email, internet, applications for just about everything, portable games console, music player, video player, camera, video camera, … all in one device. PLUS the important thing that not many other organisations seem to manage when featuring all of these features in one device – quality and success!