Hello, iPhone
I finally did it. I got an iPhone. I have been interested in purchasing one for some time, but still had about a year left in my T-Mobile contract. Using the advice from Consumerist, I was able to cancel my contract early because they were going to raise text messaging rates.
It took me two days to actually get the phone. Actually, it’s a funny story.
Day One
On Monday, I went to the Valley Fair Apple Store. When I arrived at 7:31pm I was told that the line had been capped and they would not be able to let me stand in line. I told them that I had taken the bus there, could not get off of work any earlier, and I was wearing an Apple t-shirt (thankfully). After some convincing, I was finally let into the line.
Then, my three hour wait began. At around 10:30pm, a group of six people and I were let into the Apple Store. At 10:35pm I was told, “Sorry, the AT&T servers have just shut down.” My response, “WHAT!?” Apparently, all of AT&T’s activation servers were unresponsive nationwide. Awesome. Thankfully, I was given a card that stated I had 24 hours to claim my iPhone with the guarantee that I would not have to stand in line again.
Day Two
I arrived at the Apple Store at about 9:10pm waited about 10 minutes for someone to actually be available to help me (the employees looked really drained by this point). Finally, I was handed by 8GB black iPhone and within 10 minutes my activation was complete. 
Cupertino, CA
So, I realized I never officially announced this, but this summer I am working at Apple as an intern in the Development Technologies group. Specifically, I will be working on Core Data with a small team of engineers.
Core Data allows Cocoa developers to create sophisticated data models which are automatically stored in XML, Binary, SQLite, or their own database formats. Through the use of Xcode’s Data Model Design tool developers can graphically specify entities, their attributes as well as their relationships to other entities. During runtime these objects are represented through NSManagedObjectModel objects. Data is saved, loaded, and fetched through the NSManagedObjectContext object, which serves as the front end controller for the database. Data can be distributed across multiple database and multiple NSMangedObjectContext objects can interact with a single database.
For useful tutorials on CoreData, take a look at:
- Core Data Class Overview
- Tutorial:Build a Core Data App
- More advanced:Low-Level Core Data Tutorial
- For developing your own atomic store:Atomic Store Programming
Open Computer
Recently announced, the Open Computer and OpenPro Computer by PsyStar comes with Apple’s Leopard pre-installed. What is amazing is that they offer this functionality for as low as $400.
This is accomplished by using the same x86 architecture that the majority of computers run on today, but faking the EFI firmware so that Leopard thinks that it is running on genuine Apple hardware. Interesting. Basically this group as achieved what the hackers at OSx86 have been trying to do all along.
The base model, the Open Computer has a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor, 2GB of DDR2 667 memory, Integrated Intel GMA 950 Graphics, 20x DVD+/-R SATA drive that is Lightscribe-capable, 4 rear USB Ports and comes in white or black.
Furthermore, a former Apple patent lawyer thinks Apple may not be able to do anything about it (Wired).
“Basically, when people go to a store or download software, they have a license with Apple to use this patented software on their computer. But breach of contract is one of the weakest forms of legal disputes” - Raj Abhyanker (Wired)
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out; whether the reliability and robustness of Apple’s Mac line can compete against inexpensive third-party options.
New Mac Pro
Wow. The Mac Pro legacy continues. At the default configuration, which starts at $2,799 it includes the following:
- Two 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (8-core)
- 2GB (2 x 1GB) of RAM
- 320GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB (Two dual-link DVI)
- One 16x SuperDrive
- Two independent 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet (RJ-45) interfaces
- Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) up to 3Mb/s
- One PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
- Two PCI Express x4 slots
- Two FireWire 800 ports, two FireWire 400 ports, five USB 2.0 ports
The Mac Pro includes Intel’s newest Penryn 45nm Quad-Core Xeon processors, which can be upgraded to 3.2 GHz. Main memory can be expanded to 32 GB (which I believe did not change from the last model) and it supports and internal hard drive expansion of up to 4 TB. Apple claims that this is the “fastest Mac ever” and that it delivers “up to twice the performance of its predecessor”. Also more good news, it is available today!
Personally, I am excited about the raw power that this machine has, from the graphics it includes to the new Intel chipset, it is amazing what is packed in the new Mac Pro. Other highlights include the shear expandability, and five USB ports (I have run out on my laptop), and excellent design of the machine. I would have liked to see integrated Blue-Ray or HD-DVD (even though this is not likely) support. There were several rumors that this might occur and I really thought that the next upgrade would include this.
Security Update 2007-009 1.1 [Update]
Well, it’s working now, and you might ask what sort of hackery I conceived late last night? None in fact. I woke up, and it worked. Interesting…
Security Update 2007-009 1.1
Well my wireless was working, that is until I installed this update. My installation of Leopard had been running perfectly smoothly despite others having some problems with the initial release. I have consulted Google and nothing has come up with regards to this update. Will post again once more information has become available.