Apple talk

[nathansmart]

How do you get to it? So far, everything I've seen - reviews and such - have said it's not there.

[Darryl]

Huh? I have the new OS installed and my Maps has walking and mass-transit directions. Where did you hear there wasn't?

When you select walking or mass transit, it kicks you to the App Store where you can download additional apps for those purposes.

[isoS]

So is the Google Maps app out or not? I don't see it in the store... I don't really want to upgrade to 6 until I have that as a fallback option, because I often use Maps to look up local businesses (like a restaurant), and I've heard the Apple version isn't as well populated with POIs.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to suss out my plan options if I get an iPhone 5. Right now I have a family plan with 2 phones, 700 shared minutes ($70), 250 texts per phone ($5 x2) and unlimited data ($30 x2), and I know the unlimited data's going bye-bye if we get new phones, but is my only choice the Share Everything plan? I've determined that my wife and I combined use less than 1 GB of data per month, so we can probably get by with the lowest-end Share Everything (and save a measly $9 a month by going from unlimited to 1 GB -- although we will be getting unlimited calling and texts in the swap), but I'm wondering if I can save even more by sticking with our current plan and dropping down to 1 GB of data... The Verizon site doesn't make it very easy to see the options, and Googling this gets you way too many articles that aren't all that helpful (most want to compare AT&T and Verizon plans). Do I dare walk into a Verizon store tomorrow and A) see if they have any iPhone 5s, B) see if I can get 2 of them three weeks before we're eligible for the subsidized price and C) see if they can lay out the options for changing plans? Do I dare disturb the universe?

[Darryl]

So is the Google Maps app out or not? I don't see it in the store... I don't really want to upgrade to 6 until I have that as a fallback option, because I often use Maps to look up local businesses (like a restaurant), and I've heard the Apple version isn't as well populated with POIs.

Nope, not out, and I don't think Google has officially said anything about it.

Meanwhile, you can add the maps.google.com shortcut to your home screen. In fact, when you go there in Safari, it now pops up with a message to do just that. You can search for things like always, but the web version doesn't support street view or some other features of the old app.

Looks like walking, biking, and transit directions are there though.

[pissedpissedofferson]

So is the Google Maps app out or not? I don't see it in the store... I don't really want to upgrade to 6 until I have that as a fallback option, because I often use Maps to look up local businesses (like a restaurant), and I've heard the Apple version isn't as well populated with POIs.

The App isn't out yet, but there is a workaround. Navigate to http://m.google.com/maps - The first time you visit Google Maps will give you instructions for how to add it as a web app. If you don't see any instructions just click the share (?) button on the bottom of the screen and your phone will bring up the Add to Home option.

[Liezl]

So is the Google Maps app out or not? I don't see it in the store... I don't really want to upgrade to 6 until I have that as a fallback option, because I often use Maps to look up local businesses (like a restaurant), and I've heard the Apple version isn't as well populated with POIs.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to suss out my plan options if I get an iPhone 5. Right now I have a family plan with 2 phones, 700 shared minutes ($70), 250 texts per phone ($5 x2) and unlimited data ($30 x2), and I know the unlimited data's going bye-bye if we get new phones, but is my only choice the Share Everything plan? I've determined that my wife and I combined use less than 1 GB of data per month, so we can probably get by with the lowest-end Share Everything (and save a measly $9 a month by going from unlimited to 1 GB -- although we will be getting unlimited calling and texts in the swap), but I'm wondering if I can save even more by sticking with our current plan and dropping down to 1 GB of data... The Verizon site doesn't make it very easy to see the options, and Googling this gets you way too many articles that aren't all that helpful (most want to compare AT&T and Verizon plans). Do I dare walk into a Verizon store tomorrow and A) see if they have any iPhone 5s, B) see if I can get 2 of them three weeks before we're eligible for the subsidized price and C) see if they can lay out the options for changing plans? Do I dare disturb the universe?

Well, there's also a nationwide + canada plan hidden deep in verizon's site:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/p...n/?page=canada

[Couldn'tThinkOfaName]

Apple gave Dublin a new airport. So generous.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...reaking20.html

[nathansmart]

So, here's their plan for transit directions

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/09...ance-to-shine/

[funkyrhino]

I recommend using Mapquest until Google releases their maps

[pissedpissedofferson]

Is anybody else having problems with iTunes rentals?

The last 3 times I've tried to rent an HD movie in iTunes it only downloads 4.00GB and then cuts off, regardless of the size of the movie. Then it starts giving me useless error codes, first 1309 and then 50 over and over again.

iTunes support has given me refunds for everything, but they've never actually addressed the problem. They just send me stock helpdesk answers ("most movies are only 1.5GB!") and links to unhelpful troubleshooting guides (like how to rent movies on iTunes).

Ridiculously frustrating, especially because it only affects movies that are over 4GB. I'm on a brand new macbook pro retina too, so there's no excuse for this bullshit.

[Newt Floss]

I didn't think iTunes offered videos over 4GB. What's an example of a title over 4GB?

[pissedpissedofferson]

I didn't think iTunes offered videos over 4GB. What's an example of a title over 4GB?

The Avengers HD rental download is close to 6GB. I think any 1080p movie over 2 hours long clocks in at over 4GB.

But this one ended up being my fault. I keep my iTunes library on an external drive and didn't account for it being FAT32. FAT32 has a file transfer limit of 4GB, which was why my downloads kept cutting off. I transferred everything to my computer temporarily, reformatted the drive into exFAT, and have been fine ever since.

[sparkiepop]

I just upgraded both my iMac and MacBook Pro from Leopard straight to Mountain Lion. Oh my GOD, what an amazing difference. Both of my machines are kicking ass. Surprisingly easy as well. That's all, just wanted to share.

[Itslikeimsayin]

Any specific improvements? I've been hesitant to move beyond Snow Leopard due to it obsoleting CS2, but in truth I very rarely use CS2 at home anyway. If the pros outweigh the cons, maybe I'll do the same.

[Newt Floss]

The 13 inch retina will soon be a thing. So, pissedpissedofferson, are the image retention complaints true? And if it exists, how much does it actually ruin the computer experience?

[sparkiepop]

Any specific improvements? I've been hesitant to move beyond Snow Leopard due to it obsoleting CS2, but in truth I very rarely use CS2 at home anyway. If the pros outweigh the cons, maybe I'll do the same.

It's MUCH MUCH faster and I now love Chrome. I had to upgrade because so many dev environments and programs were no longer compatible with Leopard (PHP, MySQL, Apache). I also bought a Magic Trackpad for my iMac that I couldn't use without 10.6 or higher. There are little bells and whistles that are nice like iCloud (and text messages pop up on your screen if you want) but overall it's slicker and incredibly fast. It's worth obsoleting CS2 (CS2? Really? We're up to CS5 now!).

You can order a Snow Leopard disk by calling Apple Support. It was $32 for my Family Pack so I'm sure a single machine disk would be half that. After 10.6 is installed you can skip over Lion and download Mountain Lion for $20 from the App Store.

[pissedpissedofferson]

The 13 inch retina will soon be a thing. So, pissedpissedofferson, are the image retention complaints true? And if it exists, how much does it actually ruin the computer experience?

I'm the wrong guy to ask, I can't do design work on a tiny laptop screen so I use an eternal monitor 99% of the time. My only complaint with the MBPr right now is that when it's closed the fan blows dust into the hinge, which gets on the screen and keys. That might just be because it's next to a wall, though. Otherwise it's a gorgeous little critter.

Oh, here's a weird thing: for some reason Mountain Lion on the MBPr displays browser text (especially header tags) slightly chunkier than normal. Not bold, more like how it would look if you copied and pasted a piece of text on top of itself.

[Newt Floss]

15 inches is too tiny?? But isn't it purdy?

[isoS]

I'll say it: I don't give a fuck about a retina display on a laptop. My main homie Ryan has one, and while it looks good, hi rez is not something I need from a MacBook. I don't watch movies or play games or edit photos on a laptop, I mostly just edit audio, email and web browse, none of which requires retina dpi. So to me it's a waste of money. I'd rather get a regular 13" MB and add an SSD, because that's one thing that did blow me away with the MBPr: the speed is insane. It would change my life to be able to save large audio files, or run audio filters, of compress to mp3, as fast as the MBPr can.

[Newt Floss]

I want retina dpi specifically for text alone. That's all I want it for. I don't give a shit about movies or photos. Browsing on an iPad 3 was a revelation. I no longer experienced eye fatigue. It's as enjoyable as reading off of the printed page. There's been plenty of studies on how higher dpi improves reading speed and retention. It's subtle but significant. And I can't wait to have it on a machine that I can actually use for work (iOS devices are toys).