Tom hasn't had a cellphone in a few years and he's looking at getting the Samsung Galaxy S5. He also sees that it's waterproof. Is that true? Leo says no, it's not water "proof". It's water resistant.
Microsoft pioneered public beta tests of operating systems, but once it expired, you would have to reinstall it. Apple gives away OS X, so there's been little incentive to get people to try it. Leo says that the new look of OS X is flat and the features are very good. Should you install it? It's safe to install, and it's very mature, but Leo's in no hurry.
Pete has never owned a computer and he's thinking about getting a tablet. His vision is starting to fail, so he's wondering if he would be able to make the text bigger on it. Leo says tablets can have their print set for any size, so that's not an issue. Any electronic device will do that.
For the first time in a long time, Apple has released a public beta of its next Mac operating system: OS X Yosemite.
OS X Yosemite public beta arrives (Macworld)…
http://www.macworld.com/article/2456968/apple-os-x-yosemite-public-beta-arrives-thursday.html
Ray has an iMac and when he downloads programs to it, it wants to install it on the internal hard drive. Leo says he can put the apps just about anywhere he wants just by dragging them to a different location. He should just install it, and then move the file and applications folder onto another hard drive.
Mitch does voice-over work and still uses a 2004 Power Mac G5. But the fan is so loud. So he's looking to get a new Mac Pro. Leo says that although it has a big fan, it's extremely silent thanks to it's central core design. But if he doesn't really need a lot of horsepower, the Mac Mini is very quiet as well. An iMac would also work great. That's what Leo would be looking at. It would be about $1200-1500.
John has a Mac Mini with a USB hub, but he can't charge his iPad with it. Leo says that the iPad requires 10 watts to power and re-charge it. Standard USB ports have about 5 volts, but the amperage varies. Apple broke the standard for charging with the iPad. The older ports won't charge iPads because they don't get 10w or power. Apple's own chargers work fine, and if he has a late model iPad Air, he should be able to. But for now, get an 11w charger and that'll do the job.
Apple's quarterly results were posted, and they sold 35.2 million iPhones in the quarter ending in June. They made the most money of all on the iPhone, and are clearly an iPhone company. They hoped to sell slightly more, but it's still higher sales than compared to last year. Apple claims sales are down because of "rumors" of a new iPhone coming out in the Fall.
Revenue is pretty strong, profits are good. Apple has sold more Macs than they had in quite some time, but that could be attributed to new Macs coming out.
Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac writes that we'll see the iPhone 6 in the second or third week of September. That doesn't mean it will become available then, however. Usually Apple announces the phone, and then it goes on sale a week later.
Apple ‘tentatively’ plans mid-September iPhone event as iOS 8 nears completion (9to5Mac)…
http://9to5mac.com/2014/07/23/apple-tentatively-plans-mid-september-iphone-event-as-ios-8-nears-completion/
At the "Hackers On Planet Earth" (HOPE) Conference in New York this week, forensic scientist and security expert Jonathan Zdziarski identified several holes and back doors currently on the iPhone. There's even a packet sniffer that's running all the time. Apple has yet to respond to it. It's important to understand that whenever you're using a connected device, whether intentionally or unintentionally, it could reveal information to interested parties. In his presentation, Zdziarski revealed some of the data that is constantly leaked out by the iPhone.
