Macworld posted the results of its first benchmark tests for the newly updated family of iMacs this morning. The publication’s tests found Apple’s latest iMacs to be generally faster than previous iMacs, although certain build-to-order (BTO) models from 2010 still outperformed the new family of iMacs in some tests.

The new top-of-the-line, quad-core 3.1 GHz i5 iMac bested the previous high-end model, a quad-core 2.8 GHz i5 iMac, in every test. Notably, the 3.1 GHz iMac performed 16% faster in the Speedmark 6.5 test and 22% faster in Macworld’s iTunes encode test.

The results were mixed when comparing the new iMac to powerfully configured BTO models from last year. When pitted against a quad-core 2.93 GHz Core i7 BTO iMac from 2010, the new 3.1 GHz iMac performed about equivalently in the Speedmark test but fell short in applications like Cinebench and MathematicaMark. The older, i7-based iMac offered Hyper Threading, a technology that virtually doubled the number of processor cores seen by the operating system; apps that took advantage of this technology worked better on the older machine.

When compared to a dual-core 3.6 GHz i5 BTO iMac from 2010, the current 3.1 Ghz iMac edged out its older relative by 14% in overall performance and finished tasks in Mathematica, an app that makes use of multiple processing cores, up to 67% faster. In many cases, however, the faster clock speed of the older machine helped it complete certain tasks more quickly.

Overall, the new iMacs seem to offer generally better performance in a more affordable package. But, if you frequently use software optimized for fast clock speeds or Hyper Threading technology and don’t need any of the new gadgetry in the newest machines, it may be worth tracking down a 2010 BTO iMac with a 3.6 GHz i5 or 2.93 GHz i7 inside.

Macworld publishes first round of benchmark results for new iMac originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As it said it would do, Apple has made some changes to how it stores and manages the “iOS crowd-sourced location database cache.” In particular, it reduces the size of the cache, doesn’t back it up to iTunes and deletes the cache when you disable Location Services. Apple came under fire for storing all of your location data and this addresses the bug.

This update is for iPhone 4 (GSM model), 3GS, the iPad 2 and 1st-gen iPad, iPod touch (4th and 3rd generation). Go get it by connecting your iOS device to iTunes and checking for updates.

We’re likely to see updates for developers soon, if history is any indication. Also, iOS 4.2.8 is available for Verizon iPhone 4’s, with the same changes to the location database.

iOS 4.3.3 available, contains changes to location database originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MacStories points out there is a small, but perhaps important, difference in the “SSD+HDD” option on the new iMacs. You used to simply get two drives you had to manage separately, as in the screenshot here taken from my MacBook Pro (in which I long ago swapped the optical drive for an SSD). For the new models though, Apple now specifically states: “if you configure your iMac with both the solid-state drive and a Serial ATA hard drive, it will come preformatted with Mac OS X and all your applications on the solid-state drive. Then you can use the hard drive for videos, photos, and other files.“

This may suggest a change from the older models, where the SSD came with OS X installed on it but the HDD was blank. As OS X helpfully stores various files under your /Users folder, this (by default) ended up on the SSD. Users had to take special action to put files on the HDD instead of the SSD. There’s been some speculation that Apple would do something different in these new devices, perhaps by placing the OS on the SSD and mounting /Users on the HDD to try and give users the best of both worlds.

As someone who has a hybrid setup exactly like this today, it strikes me as a rather un-Apple solution because it’s fiddly, complex, and it requires the user to stop and think on a regular basis. I use a 64 GB SSD as my boot volume and /Users/rich on the boot volume is a symlink (note: see update at the end of this post) onto the 500 GB HDD unit. My OS X install, my /Applications folder, and my Aperture library are all on the solid state drive; pretty much everything else, like my Aperture masters, iTunes library, and so on are on the magnetic drive.

This isn’t a bad compromise, but it’s still hard to look after.

Continue reading New iMacs and HDD+SSD configurations; how do they work?

New iMacs and HDD+SSD configurations; how do they work? originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 13:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comic Life, the popular Mac application that takes your photos and lets you turn them into a comic book, is now available on the iPad. The iPad version launched late last week and includes several features of its desktop counterpart including templates, balloon controls, and social network integration. The iPad app is optimized for the touchscreen with a user interface that lets you edit and move items using your fingertips. You can also use photos from your photo library or capture them on the fly using the iPad 2 cameras.

Once you create a personalized comic book, you can share it via email or Facebook or wirelessly print a hard copy for archival purposes. Folks that use Comic Life in the classroom or other group settings will be able to drag and drop comics between iPads so you can share your creation with your fellow classmates or friends. You can grab your copy of Comic Life for the iPad from the App Store for US$7.99.

[Via The Loop]

Plasq brings Comic Life to the iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Freelance designer Mac Funamizu worked his creative magic and developed a concept iPhone dock that merges the best of the iPhone with the technology of yore. Funamizu conceptualized a classic iPhone dock that lets iPhone owners print instant pictures Land Camera-style. The Polaroid-inspired design prints up a colored image on photo paper with a QR code that links to a third-party website like Flickr or Photobucket. If you geo-tagged the photo, you can even add a map to the freshly printed image. This is a lovely concept for fans of the iconic Polaroid Land camera, but sadly it may never land on retail shelves. For more pictures of this concept design, point your browser to Funamizu’s website.

[Via Yankodesign]

iPhone becomes an instant photo printer in this concept design originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spotify expanded its online music streaming service to include MP3 downloads, iPod playlist sync and more. The music service will now let free and premium users sync their iPod classic, nano or shuffle with the service. Simply connect your iPod and Spotify will add the portable media player to your list of available devices. In a matter of minutes, all the paid MP3 files in your Spotify playlist will automatically sync to your iPod.

Spotify also added a new download service that lets customers buy and download tracks from their playlists. The music streaming service has compiled several MP3 bundles that sells tracks for as low as 50 pence ($US0.83). Lastly, Spotify has made its mobile application available to everyone. Both free and premium users can now download the iOS application and wirelessly sync their playlists from their computer to their iPhone or iPod touch.

The European service is rolling out these new features to all of its users today as part of an automatic update. European readers should keep their eyes open for this update. When you receive it, let us know what you think.

Spotify adds iPod sync and MP3 downloads to its music streaming service originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iFixit got its hands on the newly announced 21.5-inch iMac and tore the all-in-one down to its screws and casing. The teardown analysis reveals the latest iMac has the same LG-manufactured LED display used in the previous generation iMac and a Thunderbolt port similar to the port found on the latest MacBook Pro models.

Good news for those that enjoy taking apart their iMac hardware as the magnetically held glass front is easily removed using suction cups and the LCD is only held in by a few screws. Once the display is removed, the RAM, hard drive, and optical drive are easily accessible. Interestingly enough, iFixit noticed a small opening for the optional SSD drive which can be mounted underneath the optical drive.

The logic board is a bit more difficult to remove as you need to disconnect several connectors and apply upward and outward pressure to jiggle it out of the casing. iMac owners don’t have to worry about a fried processor or graphics card contributing to the early demise of their machine as both the GPU and the CPU heat sink can be removed from the logic board. If a problem with either component develops, you could easily replace the AMD graphics card or Intel CPU if you want.

Overall, iFixit gave the latest generation iMac a 7 out of 10 repairability score with 10 being the easiest to repair.

iFixit tears down the latest generation iMac to reveal LG display, removable GPU originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 09:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tactical Soldier has been garnering some acclaim on the App Store lately, and it’s well deserved. It’s a turn-based strategy game that’s reminiscent of the old X-com series that combines a horror story with turn-based tactical gameplay, sending you to guide your team through a full campaign exploring a military base overrun by the walking dead. You’ll use various weapons to take out zombies while trying to keep your forces in formation and lined up for attack.

The game’s fun, though it suffers from some of the usual tactical strategy problems, including a super sluggish pace at times. The interface is clean and easy to use, so the only headaches will come from having to wait around as some of the levels drag on. Even then, this is easy to recommend for anyone interested in tactical strategy experiences, especially since there are some fun upgrade systems and power-up items.

Tactical Soldier is only for the most recent iOS devices because it does draw quite a bit of CPU power with all of those zombies running around. Game Center integration is included for leaderboards, but there is no multiplayer yet; the developers have promised more content is coming in the future. It’s available on the App Store right now for US$4.99.

TUAW’s Daily iOS App: Tactical Soldier Undead Rising originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When you’re 9 years old you dream of plenty of things. Thanks to the Make A Wish Foundation, Owain Weinert’s dream came true when he got to visit PopCap Games and design his very own video game.

Owain’s been diagnosed with pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and has spent several weeks working with PopCap to design his game, Allied Star Police. “This is my dream and I finally get to see my dream come true,” he says. “It’s a real-time strategy game and I really had fun watching it take shape.”

Owain’s mother Heather seemed bowled over by the kindness PopCap has shown her son. “Today is a real high point,” she said during a visit to the company. “Being in the hospital for kids with cancer can be a real downer.”

PopCap presented Owain with an iPad with the development version of the game, which is due in the App Store in the coming months. Profits will go to the Make A Wish foundation. You can watch a video of Owain’s visit to PopCap on the next page (sorry iOS users, no Flash-free version available).

Continue reading 9-year-old hangs with PopCap, creates iOS game via Make A Wish Foundation

9-year-old hangs with PopCap, creates iOS game via Make A Wish Foundation originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has posted a new job opening for an iOS Maps Application Developer. Last December, Apple posted a job opening stating it was looking for someone who had “experience developing navigation software,” but this is the first time Apple has explicitly stated it’s looking for a Maps developer.

The job listing doesn’t drop any hints as to what future features Maps might include, but the listing is a sign in itself that Apple is gearing up to significantly update or revamp its Maps app. A revamped Maps app has been rumored ever since Apple acquired the mapping and navigation companies PlaceBase and Poly9 in 2009 and 2010. Then, just last week, the latest hints of what is to come emerged when Apple stated that it was using some of the locationgate data “to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years.”

Maps are an import feature for any smartphone, and while iOS does offer one of the better mapping apps out there, it’s nice to see Apple isn’t content with the status quo. And if anyone at Apple is reading this, might I make a humble suggestion? The ability to save routes and download country tile packs would be a huge bonus for international travelers.

[via MacNN]

Apple looking to hire “iOS Maps Application Developer” originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry manufacturer RIM is extending its Enterprise Server mobile device management services to iOS devices, allowing systems administrators to manage BlackBerry, Android and iOS devices from a single platform. The move follows in the wake of Microsoft’s March announcement that it will allow administrators to control iOS devices with its SCCM management software. RIM’s announcement could be a similar “Use other devices if you must, but stay within our corporate fold” tactic. It could also possibly account for the discredited rumors we heard a while ago about a BlackBerry app coming to iOS.

Rather than develop its own solution, RIM is buying mobile device management company ubitexx. The company says it will provide “a simple and efficient way to distribute software and manage policies, inventory, security and services for BlackBerry devices, as well as other mobile devices.” It won’t provide BlackBerry-specific functions to iOS devices though, such as their push technology. That aside, the other features will be available later this year.

RIM intends to extend device management options to iOS originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news for Google Chrome enthusiasts: Chrome Canary is now available for Mac. Windows users have had the option to download the pre-developer, experimental builds of the Chrome browser, dubbed Canary, for some time now. But now Mac Chrome enthusiasts can also throw caution to the wind and grab a version of Chrome that almost keeps up with its open-source brother, Chromium.

But why not just use Chromium I hear you say? Because Chrome comes packing a few extras built in, like the internal Flash plug-in and other bits and pieces. You also get a nice bright, beautiful yellow icon in your dock. Just be warned that features will come and go as they’re tested, and being experimental, it may not be as secure as some of the more refined builds of Chrome.

To get Chrome Canary for Mac, head to the download page or check out some of the other more stable releases on the Chromium Early Access Release Channels page.

[via Browser Scene]

Google rolls out Chrome Canary to Mac originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 04:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our friends at Engadget report that the fine folks at ColorWare are now ready to color your iPad 2 however you’d like. ColorWare’s skinning process is super-high quality, and you can basically customize your iPad 2 however you want: coloring the Apple logo, back panel, or even front home button with any shade from their extensive palettes. Just like the other ColorWare customization, this is a polymer-based coating that looks great and stays on firmly.

But it’ll cost you. You can either buy an iPad 2 straight from the company all dressed up for US$900 (or more than $1000 if you want to go for the 3G version), or send them the one you already own and pay $400 and up for just the coloring process. That ain’t cheap, but then again, this is pretty much the best color customization company around.

Don’t have an iPad 2 but still want a colored iPad? The company is still accepting “send-in” orders on Apple’s previous tablet, but they won’t be able to sell you one anymore. The price is slightly cheaper, though — only $350.

Colorware now painting iPad 2s originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s the short version: if you have an iPad, and you listen to music, go to the App Store and download Planetary right now. It’s that good.

Planetary is a free music visualizer for the iPad, and if its design ethos looks somewhat familiar, there’s a reason. Bloom Studio, maker of Planetary, has Robert Hodgins as its Creative Director. The name may not be familiar to you right away, but his work likely is: he designed the Magnetosphere iTunes visualizer, which found its way into iTunes 8. My colleague Mel Martin notes that Bloom’s president Ben Cerveny was one of the original designers of Flickr.

Magnetosphere is pretty cool on the Mac, but Planetary on the iPad blows it away with its aesthetics and its features. You can navigate through your entire music library using Planetary’s interface, from a galaxy of stars representing artists all the way down to song moons circling album planets. You can view a walkthrough of the interface on the next page.

Continue reading Incredible music visualizer Planetary brings a galaxy of music to your iPad

Incredible music visualizer Planetary brings a galaxy of music to your iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 04 May 2011 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Redsn0w 0.9.6rc14 can jailbreak iPhone 4, 3GS 4.3.3 firmware. You can jailbreak iPhone 4, and iPhone 3GS 4.3.3 using RedSn0w. However, for now, RedSn0w provides a tethered 4.3.3 jailbreak solution. No iPad 2 support.

WARNING: If you depend on UltraSn0w unlock, you must STAY AWAY from RedSn0w and stock iOS 4.3.3, use Sn0wbreeze or PwnageTool instead.

How to Jailbreak iPhone 4, 3GS 4.3.3 with RedSn0w

Step 1

Download the required stuff:

• Download RedSn0w 0.9.6 rc14
• Download iOS 4.3.3
• Download iOS 4.3.2 (also required)
• Download iTunes 10.2.2

Step 2

Restore iOS 4.3.3 on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and keep it connected to your computer via USB.
*You can skip this step if you’re already running iOS 4.3.3.

Step 3

Execute the Redsn0w 0.9.6 rc14

Step 4

Hit the Browse button and select official iOS 4.3.2 firmware (downloaded in Step 1) NOT 4.3.3. RedSn0w will recognize your 4.3.2 IPSW file. Then hit Next.

Step 5

Now check mark “Install Cydia” and hit Next.

Step 6

Now make sure your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch is turned OFF and Plugged in to your computer. Hit Next.

Step 7

Now you’ll be instructed to put your iDevice into DFU Mode. Follow the on screen instructions.

Once you’ve successfully entered into DFU mode, RedSn0w will start jailbreaking iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS on iOS 4.3.3 tethered. When done! your iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS will be jailbroken tethered on iOS 4.3.3.

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Also checkout:

Downgrade iOS 4.3.3