ExtraBITS for 17 December 2012
We focus on past, present, and future with this week’s collection of ExtraBITS links. In the near future, those attending CES can sign up for the MacTech Insight event to get a full day of Apple-related sessions, and Glenn Fleishman writes about how the City of Seattle has partnered with a private firm to provide gigabit Internet. In the present, listen to Adam Engst talking with host Gene Steinberg of the Tech Night Owl Live about Apple’s rumored TV set, and read about how iTunes 11.0.1 solves searching problems in 11.0. And for those who like to reminisce, a clever art project puts an old-style interface on Google — we’re talking punch cards and line printers!
Focus on Apple at CES with MacTech Insight — For those thinking about attending CES — the Consumer Electronics Show — but worried it won’t have much of interest to Apple users, CES has asked MacTech to host a full day of Apple-focused sessions for the technology-minded about dealing with the cloud, home automation, building iOS apps, managing mobile devices, protecting data, and more. Registration costs $350 until 2 January 2013, and is $500 on site, but TidBITS readers can take 25 percent off with coupon code MT25P. Assuming that this new MacTech Insight event is like the MacTech Conference and MacTech Boot Camp events,
the content will be extremely worthwhile, though aimed instead at the non-technical professional.
Adam Engst Discusses Apple TV Set Rumors on Tech Night Owl Live — In this episode of Tech Night Owl Live with Gene Steinberg, Adam and Gene talk about the Apple TV set rumors, along with the fact that iTunes Match accounts can download for 90 days after expiration, and the quality of the data underlying Apple’s Maps app in iOS 6.
Forward into the Past — An “art project to explore distances and heroism in user interface design” from masswerk.at offers a Google search interface as it might have appeared in the days of punch cards and line printers. Between the sound effects and the artfully rendered skeuomorphic interface, you’ll be sweeping chads off the floor.
Gigabit Internet Just out of Reach in Seattle — The City of Seattle has partnered with a private firm and the University of Washington to bring gigabit-per-second fiber-backed Internet service to several neighborhoods — but not those inhabited by any of the Seattle-based TidBITS staff, darn it!
iTunes 11.0.1 Fixes Most of the Hits and Misses in iTunes 11.0 Searching — The search field at the top right of the iTunes 11.0 window thought different when you searched the whole library. See why you want to get the iTunes 11.0.1 update to save your sanity.