What's it all about, Alfie?

In preparation for the iPhone 3.0 release, Apple put iTunes 8.2 (requiring QuickTime 7.6.2) out of Software Updates. Not a lot in the release notes, but it's required for the iPhone update which is now probably close to being released. Maybe even before the WWDC keynote on June 8th. We'll have to wait and see.

It's too bad that it's going to require a reboot. I'll have to do it in the morning when I have the time. Maybe later tonight if I have the time after the game.

The fantastic folks at Apple are at it again with an update to iWork '09 on Software Updates. The release notes are simple: helps when saving documents. I'm not sure of that means that there were file corruption issues in the previous version, but it's good enough for me to take the time to update.

It's still more fun to work in iWork than MS Office for me. I guess I'm biased.

Once you update to Mac OS X 10.5.7 you can then hit Software Update, and if you've installed the Safari 4 Beta, you'll get the update with the security patches, etc. This brings Safari 4 up to 5528.17, and I'm sure that means something, but it's the latest and it works with 10.5.7, and that's what I'm looking for.

Good enough.

Can't help but like this - a new version of Mac OS X is available on Software Update 10.5.7. From what I've heard, this looks to be one of the last updates to 10.5 before the release of Snow Leopard (10.6) later this year. There is a complete list of updates available, and a separate list of security fixes. Not bad.

Gotta take the time to update.

UPDATE: on the update, my machine hung and I had to power-cycle it. When I did that, everything resumed updating normally, and things worked themselves out. Also, after the update, I did another Software Update and got the latest Safari 4 Beta. Nice.

Hmmm... I read this article this morning and it brings to the front an interesting possibility - getting an iPhone while retaining my Verizon service. The single biggest reason I haven't gotten an iPhone to date is the fact that it's not available on Verizon and we have the big family plan, etc. and don't really want to leave Verizon. I've heard a lot of issues about the AT&T coverage not being very good, and while I may not like the way Verizon "corporate" is seemingly constantly mis-handling our bill, the customer service agents at the local Verizon store always fix it up right and we never have to pay more than we should.

So if this is true, there will be one less reason not to buy one. If the next version of the iPhone can take movies as well as pictures, and there's 32GB of storage, then it'll easily replace my iPod Touch, and I'll probably be looking to get one. The features are just getting too nice to pass up.

I've had odd luck with the SimpleTech proDrive 1TB external drive on my new Unibody MacBook Pro 17" since I got it. I needed to get more space, and I made the mistake of not going with Western Digital MyBook because the drive in the SimpleTech was a WD 1TB drive. I thought they'd be the same.

Wrong. The I/O board is completely different. I'm sorry I got it.

But that's not the problem. The problem has been that when the MacBook Pro tries to tell the drive to go to sleep, it doesn't understand the message, times out, and then the Mac thinks the drive has dismounted itself on it's own. There's nothing I can do by unplug it and plug it back in to get it going. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it's a pain in the neck, and I wish I had a WD MyBook in it's place.

Well, today I noticed it doing this and when I plugged it back in is would not mount! OK, this is new and it's not fun. So I broke out a USB cable and hooked that up. Bingo! Worked fine. Try the FireWire cable - no good. Repeat two more to see that the USB was working and the FireWire wasn't.

No messages in the Console or logs. Nothing.

Then I thought Hey, let's put it to sleep and wake it up and see what happens. Good idea. After it went to sleep successfully, when I opened the case and it woke up, I was able to connect and mount the drive.

Whew!

I'm still not happy with the drive, and now I'm more motivated than ever to get a MyBook. They just don't have any problems. I've had at least four of them at home and they all run like a champ. So maybe that's a task for this weekend - get a >1TB MyBook drive. Anyway, if this happens again, that's the first thing to try.

This morning I checked Software Update and noticed that there was an update to iMovie ro fix a problem:

This Software Update fixes an issue with projects having a size of 0 KB. Attempting to open these projects would cause iMovie to quit unexpectedly at launch.This Software Update also addresses a problem where full-screen mode could not be accessed on some systems.

Not that I've heard a lot of issues from the kids on iMovie, but I was looking at some video from vacation and know that I'll want to be stitching it together so I certainly wanted to update.

This morning iTunes 8.1.1 hit Software Update with the somewhat lame description:

iTunes 8.1.1 adds support for renting HD movies and provides a number of bug fixes, including addressing issues with VoiceOver and syncing with iPhone or iPod touch.

and while I don't think we need to get a novelist to write the release notes, I think this is a little skimpy for even Apple.

But hey... it's an update, and there's got to be a reason to have it. So I got it.

This morning there was a big update for iWork '09 and iLife '09 on Software Updates. I'm assuming it's bug fixes and security fixes. iWeb has a fix for publishing via FTP to a site that's not .Mac. iMovie has general fixes and usability issues addressed. iPhoto has similar stability and usability issues addressed, and iWork says it's "just needed". Sounds very stability and security orientated to me.

Gotta get it - even if it means a reboot.

This morning, most likely due to the new iPod Shuffle Apple released yesterday, there's a new iTunes and a corresponding update to Front Row on Software Update. There seems to be a few nice new features in iTunes - Genius Bar in Movies and TV Shows - that'll be interesting to see what it thinks I'll like, and a few Parental Controls on iTunes U, but for the most part, it's the new Shuffle that makes the reason for upgrade important.

Not that I plan on getting one, but I want to stay current, as always.