Glo Networks Technical Blog (Glo Blog)

After being unveiled to the public some 9 months ago Apple’s new operating system sees its release today. So congratulations expectant Apple fans: It’s a Lion! Or OSX Lion to be more precise.

As the newest edition of Apples popular OSX family of operating systems Lion has great pedigree. Previous OSX versions (Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard etc.) have been very well received. But when you look at the interface changes and new features in Lion another source of inspiration is also apparent; Apples iPhone and iPad operating system iOS.

OSX Lion is available from today, from the Mac App Store, for £20.99. Unlike other OSX releases there is no hard copy available; it’s a download only purchase.

We’ve not yet had a chance to play with Lion but rest assured, once we’ve got our teeth into it we’ll report our thoughts on the new OS here on the blog.

Posted by James in Desktops and Laptops, General, Operating Systems | No Comments »

It seems Apple took the first day of September as an opportunity to make several announcements regarding their new products. Although these aren’t business related as such, here at Glo Networks  we feel it’s our nerdy duty to pass on some of the info!

Apple TV is a new media streaming device which will connect to your TV via HDMI. This device looks set to allow streaming of your iTunes libary, as well as offering HD movie rentals (streaming from Apple) and providing Youtube and Flickr access, all direct to your TV. The device has price tag in the UK of £99.

Also announced were a slew of new iPods. This includes the new Shuffle, a new Nano and a new Touch. All 3 are similar to their predecessors but of course all have improvements.  The Shuffle looks smaller but apparently has bigger buttons and a voiceover feature to help you navigate without a screen, the Nano now has a 1.54” MultiTouch screen and is both smaller and lighter, and the Touch is now ridiculously thin, sports a new Retina display (four times the resolution of previous models) and allows HD video recording (720p!) with the new camera.

iTunes is also getting a update, with the new version being iTunes 10. The biggest new feature is the integration of a social networking element,  which Apple is calling Ping. Think of the social networking capabilities of Spotify, but  this appears not to rely on existing social networks (Facebook etc.).

Apple have been busy indeed and their new products look likely to continue being  some of the most popular of the continuing digital media revolution. For more information on the latest news from Apple see: http://www.apple.com/uk/hotnews/

Posted by James in Cool Stuff, General | No Comments »

Take a look at a Macbook Pro, specifically the USB ports. Spot any differences? Anything to suggest one may be hiding a secret? No? Well although the USB ports on the Macbook Pro look identical it seems Apple has a little surprise attached to the rear port (closest to the screen).

The rear USB port actually connects to a hidden (internal) USB Hub, which is also shared by the keyboard, Bluetooth, track pad, iSight camera and the infra-red receiver. While it is still a functional USB port for the most part, certain devices can have problems, caused by the USB hub.

Our attention was brought to this issue when we tried to use a USB hub on one of our own in the rear port. It seemed to be working as expected at first, however we were confused to find that when we attempted to use a USB headset in the external hub we found Skype calls would have quality issues. We also noticed a form of lag when using a mouse in the hub.

We found that a simple swap of the USB hub from the rear to the front USB port on the Macbook cleared all the issues! A little investigating  and we uncovered the Macbook Pro’s secret hub. This explained the problems we’d experienced, considering having a USB hub plugged into a USB hub has never been a recommended setup!

Posted by James in Desktops and Laptops, Laptop Hardware | 3 Comments »

Since the release of the iPhone 4 Glo Networks have been impressed by the functionality of the video calling app, called FaceTime. FaceTime allows video calling between two iPhone 4′s via the internet (requires both device to be connected to WiFi).

Utilising either of the devices cameras (the iPhone 4 has a  camera on the front and the back) you can either switch from an existing voice call to video with a tap of an onscreen button or you can initiate a video call from the contacts list. As you can use either camera it’s possible to choose between showing your own image via the front camera, or showing whatever you point the back camera at (and still see the person you’re chatting to).

Apple seem to have been marketing the video calling capabilities of the new iPhone for leisure use, with adverts showing things like a couple sharing their baby’s smile or friends helping each other decide what to wear, however, we, here at Glo, are beginning to see  potential in the app for business purposes (particuarly in our line of work!).

Here’s an example: Imagine a situation where a cable has become unplugged in a server room. The person who discovers this may not know where the cable should be plugged in, and as such phones their IT support provider. Now from experience we can tell you it’s not always simple to describe cables, or the sockets they should be plugged into over the phone. However if both of the people in the call were able to use FaceTime they could simply point the rear camera at the cable in question and the support engineer will instantly be able to see what they’re dealing with!

Although FaceTime is only available on the iPhone 4 at present, and only with a WiFi connection,  Apple has pledged to release it as an open standard, allowing other companies to develop around it. This means you could soon be seeing FaceTime appearing on other devices, and possibly (with support from phone service providers) over 3g!

Posted by James in Mobile | 2 Comments »

Here at Glo Networks we’ve recently taken delivery of our first iPad. Having had some hands on time with the device we thought we’d offer our opinions on the current must-have gadget.

The first thing likely to cross your mind when using an iPad for the first time is how alien it is to hold and how strange it feels to use. This does not last long though as, much like the iPhone before it, after a short while with an iPad in your hands it seems perfectly natural and a joy to use. The onscreen keyboard is a decent size which makes text entry quick and simple.

The display on the device is crystal clear and a pleasure to use. The apps that were designed for the iPad all look fantastic (The email application in landscape mode is a particular joy!) however the older apps, designed for the iPhone, while useable and upscaled on the iPad are much less nice to look at. As more time passes we would expect to see iPad versions released for the majority of the most popular iPhone apps!

One App that has a Glo recommendation is Jump Desktop. This allows you to control remote PC’s via RDP. This is a very useful tool for those who may wish to use their iPad as a kind of replacement for a laptop, as it can allow access to all the programs, files etc. on your PC from your iPad. Using this app to connect to your PC you also have access to websites with Flash (we tested on Youtube, video was laggy and audio not perfect but compared to a complete lack of Flash it’s a definite improvement!).

Our major gripe with the iPad is, and has always been (since announcement) the lack of multi-tasking capabilities. As with the iPhone, to switch between apps means one closing to allow the other to open. While this is not such an issue on a phone (though annoying) on a tablet PC this becomes a major drawback! However it seems Apple are very aware of this, and have promised multitasking added in an update soon!

Posted by James in General | No Comments »