Mountain Lion to arrive sooner than expected?

Apple may be gearing up to release Mountain Lion in the next few weeks, so if you plan on upgrading you might consider preparing your system.

by Topher Kessler  May 9, 2012 11:53 AM PDT

For the past couple of months Apple has been teasing the public with its upcoming version of OS X, called Mountain Lion. Earlier this year Apple released a sneak peek of the new Mountain Lion features on its Web site, and has since been releasing builds of the operating system to developers for testing. While Apple has claimed the OS will be released this summer, new developments suggests this date may be earlier rather than later.

In the past when Apple has promised software releases during the summer, it has waited until the very end of summer to release them, but according to AppleInsider, Apple is in the midst ofhiring and training a number of new AppleCare employees, which suggests Apple expects the OS release to be ready for public release within weeks, rather than months.

Apple's new OS is a slight turn in a new direction for the Mac OS, where Apple is integrating a number of the iOS-inspired features from its iPhone and iPad devices. These include things like notifications, Reminders, Game Center and Messages. Many of these features are standalone programs, but some such as the notification center and sharing links are system-wide services. In addition to these details, Apple is enhancing security options with its GateKeeper technology, which makes this upgrade more than just a few new tweaks and tools.

When the OS is released, Apple is expected to follow the same avenues it did for Lion, and offer the OS via the Mac App Store. Currently there is no information on whether or not Apple will provide it on physical media as it eventually did with Lion, but this is a possibility as well.

As the OS release date nears, if you are planning on upgrading, then you might consider some preparation before doing so. As we've recommended for past OS upgrades, you can often avoid odd problems with an update or upgrade by taking a few precautionary steps.

1. Backups
   Be sure you have a good backup of your system, which means have one that not only backs up your entire system, but does so in a way that it can easily be restored. To do this, you can make use of the Time Machine technology Apple provides in OS X, but there are also system cloning tools and other third-party backup systems that can do the same thing. Part of setting up a backup system is to test it and ensure it is backing up your system properly. Therefore, try booting off of your system clones, or boot to the OS X installation DVD or recovery partitions and try accessing your Time Machine backups from there.
2. Backup the installer
   Along with backing up your current OS installation, be sure you back up the Mountain Lion installer that you download from the Mac App Store. With OS X Lion, the installer would download to your Applications folder and then be deleted once you installed the OS; however, many found the need for the installer to either reinstall the OS, or install it on another system they owned. While you can quit the installer when it automatically launches and then copy it from your Applications folder to a thumb drive or another safe location, another option you have is to create a bootable installation drive from it that can be used on any supported Mac. I expect the steps for doing this will be very similar to those outlined for creating an OS X Lion installation disc.
3. Clear up current problems
   If applications are constantly crashing, your system is experiencing frequent kernel panics, or it is hanging and showing you the spinning color wheel frequently, then try addressing these problems first before installing the new OS. You can get help for doing this by contacting the support services for your software's developer, or get help on theApple Discussion boards.
   
   Keep in mind that the problems to address are large ones such as the inability to perform functions you ought to be able to perform (authentication, logging in, opening applications, shutting down and starting up, etc.), since often times more minor problems like slowdowns or wifi connectivity issues may be fixed by OS updates.
4. Run a general maintenance routine
   Often odd problems and slowdowns can happen from corruption in temporary system files (caches, logs, and other configurations), and clearing these out can offer a boost in performance. You can perform a simple maintenance routine by rebooting into Safe Mode (hold Shift at startup) followed by using Disk Utility to run permissions fix and drive verification routines. If you would like to perform a more in-depth cleansing of the system, you can do so by following our general maintenance recommendations for OS X.

Even though problems with an OS upgrade may happen for a number of reasons, by following these steps before and during the upgrade process, you will better ensure the upgrade goes as smoothly as possible.

Source: cnet.com

Apple's new iPad arrives in 30 more countries this weekend

Soon, people in 30 more countries around the world -- including Argentina, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates -- will be able to get an iPad, bringing to nearly 90 the total number of countries that sell the tablet.

by Dara Kerr  May 8, 2012 5:59 PM PDT

Cheerleaders for Apple's iPad can get out their pom-poms (and perhaps their passports). As of this weekend, the new iPad will be available in 30 more countries, including Brazil, Botswana, Cambodia, Malta, Mauritius, and Qatar, according to MacRumors.

Apple's Web site lists 13 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America and says, "the new iPad is arriving in these countries on May 11th." MacRumors did some further digging on the tech company's country-specific store pages and found that 17 other countries will be selling thetablet as of this weekend (see full list of new countries below).

This brings the number of countries where the iPad is available to nearly 90. Just a couple of weeks ago, Apple brought its tablet to India and eight other countries. And right before that, the company started selling iPads in 12 more countries, including South Korea.

Brazil is the country of note in this most current launch because it's where Apple is starting up iPad production with its manufacturing partner Foxconn. The Brazilian government granted a batch of tax and other financial incentives to Foxconn in January, which helped push the Apple manufacturer to move some of its production facilities from China to Brazil.

According to MacRumors, the new iPad is still waiting for certification to be sold in China, Honduras, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and the Philippines. For now, Apple is promoting the iPad 2 for sale in those countries, saying on its Web site that the older version is "now more affordable than ever."

New countries: Argentina, Aruba, Bahrain, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Curacao, Ecuador, Egypt, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Madagascar, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Morocco, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

Source: http://news.cnet.com

Google+ comments to appear in Gmail

In the continued push to bulk up its social network, the Web giant announces that Google+ and Gmail are to be "completely interactive."

by Dara Kerr  May 8, 2012 9:06 PM PDT

An example of how Google+ notifications will now appear in Gmail.

(Credit: Google)

Google announced today that it's bringing "a better Google+ notification experience in e-mail" -- one that, among other things, will drop various commenting features directly into your in-box.

The "notification experience" entails a bunch of changes that makes Gmail "completely interactive" with the social network. The updates include being able to view, comment on, and +1 posts from inside Gmail's in-box, seeing comments appear in the Google+ stream in real time in a sidebar, and seeing responses from others "instantly appear" in Gmail as part of the notification message.

"Notification e-mails are a great way to keep up with what's happening in the Google+ stream: whether someone mentions you, comments on your post, or shares with you directly," Google Software Engineer Zohair Hyder wrote in a blog post. "It's not always enough to just read these updates, however; sometimes you want to respond right away, right from your in-box."

Google had already started integrating Google+ into Gmail before today; recent new features include being able to add people to circles directly from the desktop and viewing recent Google+ content in the people widget.

While some may appreciate these new features, others may well bemoan a perceived impossibility of escaping Google+. Just last week, the Web giant announced that Google+ comments will be posted alongside Google News articles, and earlier in the week, actor and writer Wil Wheaton ranted about having to sign into Google+ to like a video on YouTube.

When Google first launched Google+ last June, the company said its goal was to move toward the integration of its products with its social network. It's now delivering on its word with these recent debuts of Google+ into YouTube, Google News, and Gmail.

Google said it will be rolling out the new Google+ features in Gmail over the next week. Users have the option of going into the social network's settings and adjusting which of the notification e-mails they wish to receive.

Could you get fired for a Facebook 'like'?

A judge rules that Facebook 'likes' are not protected speech. Does this mean you should be a little more careful about what you admit to liking?

by Chris Matyszczyk  May 6, 2012 9:03 AM PDT

(Credit: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

I have no idea why people feel the desperate need to tell others about their likes.

Perhaps it is something to do with suppressed childhoods. Perhaps it is something to do with a longing to find others with the same predilections, so as to believe that one isn't entirely batty in one's preferences.

But a court case might lead some to wonder whether it's worth expressing your fondness for, say, the collected works of Karl Marx or the troubling designs of Ann Taylor.

For, as the New York Times reports it, a judge in Virginia has ruled that Facebook "likes" are not protected speech.

In the case before him, Judge Raymond A. Jackson -- who, I am sure, is very likable -- said that the mere clicking of a Facebook button is not the same as writing something down and then posting your musing.

The issue at hand was the firing by Hampton, Va., Sheriff B.J. Roberts of six employees. They sued, claiming that they had not been fired for any incompetence, but rather for believing that his opponent, Jim Adams, was more competent.

One of the six had gone so far as to "liking" Adams on Facebook -- a fact of which Roberts admitted he was aware.

Public employees do have the right to speak out on matters of public import. But whether you are a public employee or a private one, everything you "like" can be construed by your employer as saying something about you. Something permanent, rather than temporary, occasional, political or even humorous.

Here, then, is your conundrum, should you wish to have a career in one of the supposed professions left that can offer such a thing.

If your employers happen upon your Facebook fondness for, say, Ayn Rand, Rand Paul or Paul McCartney, might they suddenly choose to declare that you have "hindered the harmony and efficiency of the office," as Sheriff Roberts claimed in this case?

In fact, given that companies seem ever more enamored of trawling through your socially networked self in order to discover supposed truths, doesn't the Facebook "like" offer an innocently dangerous form of self-expression?

Legal experts say such an issue will ultimately be decided by a court slightly more exalted than Judge Jackson's. However, it has surely been established that anything and everything you do online can, at some point in your life, be used against you (however subtly).

Who is to say that your company doesn't every week examine what its employees have liked on Facebook during the previous 7 days?

It's not as if HR departments are overworked most of the time. And just imagine what fun they might have putting together complex maps of your head's inner workings.

You work at Google and you just "liked" Larry Ellison? You work at Facebook and you just "liked" the Electronic Frontier Foundation? You work at Fox News and you just "liked" Gawker?

Which might lead some to wonder whether "liking" anything is worth the trouble. Oh, by the way, please don't forget to "like" this post, as it'll make me feel warm all over.

Nokia launches Asha 202 feature phone for just Rs 4,149

For those who want a web-enabled phone and don’t particularly care about the whole smartphone rage, Nokia’s new Asha 202 could be a viable alternative. Tech2.com reports that the Asha 202, a web enabled feature phone is available for Rs 4,149 only and could prove to be a useful budget buy – not only in terms of its price, but also because using data on the device could work out to be much cheaper.

The Asha is dual SIM enabled and is a touch and type phone. Its features include web browsing, social networking, gaming and entertainment features.

But the best part, at least according to Tech2.com, is that “To enable the consumers to experience ‘faster Internet’ without having to worry about data charges, Nokia has tied up with five lead operators – Aircel, Airtel, Reliance, Tata Docomo and Vodafone – across the country to offer 100 MB of data (each) per month for six months absolutely free.”

Nokia Asha 202. Tech2.in.com

The Asha will also be the first  Series 40 device to offer exclusive EA games in India. As part of the the promotion drive, consumers can enjoy 40 EA game packs worth Rs 4,000 from the Nokia Store at absolutely no cost for the first 60 days. Popular classics likeNeed for Speed, Tetris, etc are a part of this package.

At the launch of the device, Mr Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India said, “The introduction of Asha 202 takes us another step closer to connecting the next billion people to the internet. Nokia Asha 202 is the new face of smarter feature phones that comes packed with compelling, innovative services and entertainment options.”

The phone comes with a 2.4-inch touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, music player, FM radio, Nokia Browser, and Bluetooth connectivity, and has an expandable memory of up to 32GB.