MacRumors

The new Airport Extreme and Time Capsule released by Apple in June didn't have an advertised upgrade, outside of a capacity bump on the Time Capsule. However, Brian Klug at AnandTech has written an extraordinarily detailed review of the new devices and found they are notably improved from the prior generation.

Klug notes that the new devices are virtually indistinguishable from their older counterparts, but in detailed testing, they found increased throughput and range.

At the end of the day, the new Airport Extreme dramatically improves throughput in the best case and in a few regions where signal was previously unusable. In the worst case (location 4), performance improves from being essentially unusable to totally fine, and in the case of the 2010MBP goes from not being able to connect at all to pushing 23 Mbps.

[...]

The main improvements with AFS (real-world file transfer) happen out at the extremes where previously signal was unusable on 2.4GHz, and likewise on 5GHz. That really tells the story of the (sometimes dramatic) difference that the higher power WLAN solution in the 5th generation makes over the 4th generation.

The highest speeds are attained with the 2011 generation MacBook Pro which includes an upgraded "three spatial stream compliant WLAN stack", which basically is next-generation wireless software and hardware.

The new Airport Extreme includes a slightly different chipset as well, moving from one sourced from Marvell to one from Broadcom:

The result of the move from Marvell to Broadcom is twofold. First, performance and range is definitely better thanks to more transmit power and the improved sensitivity afforded by newer generation chipsets. Second, the combination of lots of Broadcom in Apple’s hardware lineup (from the iPhone, iPad, and MacBooks, to iMac and Mac Mini) with Broadcom in the access point likely allows for the use of frame bursting or some other packet aggregation technique that speeds things up in some scenarios. It’s another example of how having that complete hardware control can in fact result in some benefit—in this case, faster WiFi.

Klug finishes the review by noting the Airport Extreme is reasonably priced compared to the competition and he prefers it due to it "actually work[ing] without locking up, becoming unstable periodically, dropping the session from overheating when being pushed to 100% for hours, or requiring a daily reboot."

Metropolitan Police have multiple police vans parked in Oxford Circus, including three parked directly in front of the Apple Store flagship on Regent Street. The picture above was posted to Twitter by @Joe, a venture capitalist with m8 Capital in London.

Update: Reports on Twitter that the Bullring shopping center in Birmingham has been breached. There is an Apple Store in the Bullring complex, but there are no confirmed reports that the store has been broken into. The Bullring closed early on Monday evening due to the situation in Birmingham.

Update: The Bullring shopping center closed early again on Tuesday, shutting stores at 5PM. There are no indications of vandalism to the Apple Store in the complex, though there were significant disturbances in the area around Bullring last night.

Update: The Apple Store Liverpool ONE was emptied of all product Tuesday evening ahead of possible unrest in Liverpool.

Londoners are facing rioting and looting for the third night in a row. The BBC has extensive coverage of the events.

Any UK readers with pictures, video, or other information, please get in touch via Twitter, email, or the comments on this post.

Way back in January 2010, development firm Illusion Labs demoed a Mac version of its popular iPhone game Touchgrind, showing off how the sophisticated multi-touch trackpad included on Apple's notebook computers could be used in a novel way for controlling the skateboarding gameplay.

As noted by our sister site Touch Arcade, Illusion Labs has finally followed through and released Touchgrind for OS X [Mac App Store].

Currently available for free from the Mac App Store, Touchgrind can obviously also take advantage of Apple's Magic Trackpad that was released last year, several months after the Touchgrind demo was first created.

It may have taken a while, but Touchgrind has indeed launched in the Mac App Store, and it’s currently completely free. The game controls well with the multi-touch trackpad, though it definitely feels different than the iOS touch screen and does take some getting used to. The view is nice and zoomed out, similar to the iPad version Touchgrind HD [$7.99], which makes it a whole lot easier to tell where you are going while cruising around the skatepark.

Illusion Labs has been aggressive in demoing ideas for moving its iOS games to other devices and platforms, having also shown off Touchgrind and another title, Sway, on a large multi-touch table several years ago.

Apple today released Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, a utility that lets users create a Lion recovery partition on an external drive or USB key. Lion Recovery lets users "repair disks or reinstall OS X Lion without the need for a physical disc."

To create an external Lion Recovery, download the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant application. Insert an external drive, launch the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, select the drive where you would like to install, and follow the on screen instructions.

When the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant completes, the new partition will not be visible in the Finder or Disk Utility. To access Lion Recovery, reboot the computer while holding the Option key. Select Recovery HD from the Startup Manager.

Lion Recovery Disk Assistant can be downloaded from Apple's support website.

Apple's knowledge base article about the utility notes that the partition it creates has all the same capabilities as the Lion Recovery that is installed during a Lion installation. However, this partition could be used in the event a user can't start their computer from the Recovery partition or if the hard drive is replaced.

[Users can] reinstall Lion, repair the disk using Disk Utility, restore from a Time Machine backup, or browse the web with Safari. This drive can be used in the event you cannot start your computer with the built-in Recovery HD, or you have replaced the hard drive with a new one that does not have Mac OS X installed.

The document has two final notes:

- If the computer shipped with Lion, the external recovery drive can only be used with the system that created it.

- If the system was upgraded from Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard to Lion, the external recovery drive can be used with other systems that were upgraded from Snow Leopard to Lion.

We had previously reported that in order to do a clean install of Lion, Snow Leopard would need to be installed first. With this recovery partition creator, there is now an official path to perform a clean install without Snow Leopard. Also, this would seem to make the unofficial Lion boot disk creator unnecessary.

Skype today announced the release of Skype 5.3 for Mac OS X , a significant update bringing full support for OS X Lion, as well as new support for HD video calling.

Skype 5.3 for Mac OS X is built to work with Apple's newest desktop operating system, Lion, in addition to being compatible with past versions of OS X going all the way back to Leopard.

With Skype 5.3 for Mac OS X, you'll also be able to send and receive HD quality video when talking to your friends and family. You'll need to use the Mac's built-in webcam or choose from a variety of webcams from our Skype Shop, such as the Logitech C910, to make video calls in crystal clear HD quality. To receive clear HD video calls on your Mac, we recommend an upload/download speed of 1.5Mbps.

Just last month, Skype 5.2 for Mac added group screen sharing for customers with premium subscriptions, as well as a revamped call control bar with support for video calls. Skype has also been hard at work on its offerings for Apple's mobile platform, finally releasing Skype for iPad one week ago.

Patently Apple reports that Apple has been hit with a new patent lawsuit targeting "fast booting" used in OS X, a method of utilizing boot configuration information from earlier booting processes to speed the system startup process.

The lawsuit specifically states that Apple's OS X violates "at least Claim 1" of the OSS patent. The claim in question reads as follows:

"A method for fast booting a computer system, comprising the steps of: A. performing a power on self test (POST) of basic input output system (BIOS) when the system is powered on or reset is requested; B. checking whether a boot configuration information including a system booting state which was created while executing a previous normal booting process exists or not; C. storing the boot configuration information from execution of the POST operation before loading a graphic interface (GUI) program, based on the checking result; and D. loading the graphic user interface (GUI) program."

What is most interesting about the patent and associated lawsuit is that the patent application was initially filed back in 1999 and assigned to LG Electronics. LG is of course a competitor to Apple in the smartphone market, but also serves as a supplier to Apple, primarily through its LG Display arm.

It is unclear, however, whether LG still has any stake in the patent in question, as the assignment on the patent has changed hands multiple times dating back to 2004. LG initially passed the patent off to a company known as Microconnect LLC, but the patent was subsequently passed along to firms by the names of Protimus Technologies LLC and ANPA Inc while also being reissued once along the way. The patent lawsuit has been brought by a Florida-based company called Operating Systems Solutions LLC, which appears to be a previously-unknown entity that may have been created specifically for the purposes of the lawsuit.

Apple is of course no stranger to patent and other types of lawsuits, not only engaging in high-profile disputes with major competitors but also both taking on and being targeted by smaller firms. And while this latest lawsuit may simply be a case of a small patent holding firm seeking to capitalize on its holdings, the patent's historical ties to LG naturally lead to questions about whether yet another of Apple's major competitors is playing a role in the ever-increasing legal entanglements for Apple.

Apple's rumored iTunes Replay service is still "a ways off", CNet reports. According to the publication's sources, Apple has yet to sign the required cloud agreements for feature films with at least four of the top six film studios. Apple reportedly started pursuing these agreements earlier in the year, but sources say the negotiations "could drag on for months".

iTunes Replay was described as a service that would allow customers to redownload movies or even stream them to Macs or iOS devices. The recent availability of TV show redownloads through iCloud seemed to suggest that Apple could be close to a similar Movie offering. CNet reports, however, that movies are a different beast altogether.

One major reason is due to the "HBO window", which is the period of time in which HBO owns exclusive electronic distribution rights for movies from three of the top six studios. During this time, online retailers such as Apple, would be prevented from providing downloads or streaming of those particular movies. The entire industry may be held up with the same issues, so it seems there is an incentive to renegotiate these contracts. But, as said before, it will simply take more time.

CNet also debunks the supposed deals that Apple had in place to launch a Netflix competitor. According to the same industry sources, Apple does not have any deals in place to create a Netflix-like subscription service.

Apple has quietly launched a lower cost $999 iMac for educational institutions this morning. The new low-end model is labeled "Education only" and is not available for individuals. The new iMac appeared on Apple's Higher Educational online store early this morning. The specs now have been published on the site and reflect the following reduced features.

• 3.1GHz Intel Core i3 Dual-Core
• 21.5-inch LCD
• AMD Radeon HD 6750 with 256MB
• 2GB RAM
• 250GB Hard Drive
• SuperDrive
• OS X Lion

Interestingly, this new iMac does not have Thunderbolt, just a mini Display Port. The next higher model is $1149 and offers a 2.5GHz Quad-Core i5 with 4GB of RAM and 500GB hard drive.

Apple, in the past, has also offered special education only models for institutions. These larger educational purchases may be more price sensitive than the rest of the market, and Apple has adjusted the hardware down in order to fit the sub-$1000 price point. Apple appears to still offer an even cheaper $899 20" iMac that houses the previous generation Intel Core 2 Duo and does not even appear to include OS X Lion.

With the MobileMe to iCloud transition service launched for developers tonight, Apple has revealed what it plans on doing with existing MobileMe accounts moving over to iCloud.

While MobileMe and iCloud accounts are quite different there are some overlapping parts. iCloud will continue to house Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Bookmarks, Find My Phone, and Back to My Mac, while dropping support for iWeb Publishing, Gallery and iDisk. Meanwhile, iCloud adds iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream, Documents in the Cloud, Automatic downloads of apps and books, and iOS device backup and restore.

During the transition, Apple has promised to keep existing MobileMe accounts active until June 30, 2012. What wasn't entirely clear was how the storage requirements would shift over to iCloud. Current individual MobileMe customers have 20GB of storage included in their yearly plan.

Apple has decided to move this one-to-one over to iCloud and is automatically signing up MobileMe users to the 20GB (+ 5GB free) tier plan in iCloud at no charge. We previously detailed the iCloud additional storage pricing which puts 25GB of storage at a normal yearly price of $40 USD per year.

Users are automatically signed up for recurring billing with the next payment date for the plan to be June 30th, 2012 -- the same date that the rest of MobileMe shuts down. You may choose to downgrade before that time, and not get charged.

It's not clear how much an average user will need on iCloud. Apple claims 5GB "goes a long way". With the loss of MobileMe's iDisk, individual storage requirements could easily go down with iCloud, but the addition of iOS backups could easily push you over the free 5GB limits. Apple is expected to launch iCloud in the fall alongside iOS 5.

Apple's latest iOS 5 Beta 5 contains the interface elements for their rumored upcoming Speech Recognition features. The screenshot below (via 9to5Mac) shows a microphone button found on the standard text keyboard in iOS. Pressing on the microphone button will bring up a microphone speech screen where you presumably start speaking.

Apple has long been rumored to be working on an intelligent assistant speech interface to iOS based on their Siri acquisition. This latest screenshot shows how the speech recognition can be called up from any standard text entry field.

We've confirmed that the above interface does exist (in dormant form) in the latest iOS 5 beta 5. Once activated, however, the speech interface isn't yet functional. Apple hasn't included all the pieces required to enable the speech recognition. Apple has been said to be in negotiations with Nuance to power the upcoming speech recognition technology in iOS 5.

But perhaps more interesting is that that Apple seems to have gone out of its way to keep it hidden from prying eyes. Apple's certainly aware that individuals comb through every new developer beta looking for hints of upcoming features. In this instance, they've obfuscated the names of various pieces of the interface. For example, calling the microphone button "forward delete key" and the keyboard pretends to be a "Dvorak" keyboard. The move is a reflection of the increased scrutiny of Apple's moves but also the relative significance of this feature that Apple has gone out of its way to hide.

Apple has enabled the MobileMe.com/move url which allows developers to migrate data from MobileMe to iCloud. If you're not a developer, you'll have to wait. Per 9to5Mac, it allows you to move Mail, Contacts, and Calendar information, but the rest of the data won't be making the move:

Apple lets you take your Mail, Contacts, and Calendar information over to iCloud and also tells users that they can continue using iWeb, iDisk, and Photo Gallery up until June 30, 2012. Apple also tells users that the following will no longer be available: Dashboard widget sync, dock item sync, keychains, signatures, mail account rules, mail smart boxes, and mail preferences.

Non-developer accounts are not yet allowed to migrate their data to iCloud.

In a surprise move, Apple has released iOS 5 Beta 5 (build 9A5288d) to developers on Saturday. Apple typically releases new developer seeds on weekdays. Alongside the iOS 5 beta 5 release is Xcode 4.2 Developer Preview 5, iTunes 10.5 Beta 5 and Apple TV Software beta 4.

iOS 5 Beta 5 is available as an over the air update, but according to the release notes, users must first erase all content and settings by choosing Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. Apple recommends backing up your device using iTunes 10.5 Beta 4 or through iCloud prior to installing iOS 5 beta 5, and subsequently restoring. That said, some users have been able to upgrade fine without going through that process.

thanks Elijah

BGR posts the release notes, which details some fixes, but no major new features. We're looking into what other changes may have occurred.

Hearing Aid Mode is said to be new in iOS 5 Beta 5:

Over the air update from Beta 4 to Beta 5 is 128MB.

NatesTechUpdate offers this video which goes over some of the new findings in iOS 5:

Since late yesterday, MacRumors has received a few reports of users who have seen their devices running various beta versions of iOS 5 shutting down and returning to activation mode. The reports have been sporadic, with some users suggesting that earlier beta versions may simply have been expiring and been disabled by Apple.

But according to a report from Karthik.K (via AppleInsider), the deactivations appear to be a concerted effort by Apple to crack down on registered developers who have been selling off extra beta slots to offer non-developers access to iOS 5 beta versions. Developers who have sold off their slots are apparently reporting that Apple has shut down their accounts over the violation of the company's developer terms, which limit beta iOS installations to the developer's own devices for testing purposes.

Many of my developer friends have reported that Apple has sent an email warning which said that they have identified the developer to be selling his slots for some users to get early preview of iOS.

And Apple has started closing the developer accounts for selling the slots and also, have flagged the UDIDs associated with that dev account, thus making the iOS 5 device unusable.

Many developers have received this letter and immediately banned their account from the developer’s program.

Once Apple locks your iOS device, the phone will enter the initial setup mode asking you to connect to a WiFi network. And nothing happens more than that.

Apple allows developers to register up to 100 devices to a single developer account, which costs $99 per year. Each developer can submit a list of Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs) to be registered under their account, and some users have taken to selling off those device slots to non-developers for $5-10 apiece in order to pay for their own developer access and make a small profit. Going even further, entire websites have even sprung up to facilitate the direct sale of such slots.

As a result of those beta slot sales, access to the iOS 5 has been relatively wide open, facilitating significant disclosures about the next-generation mobile operating system despite many of the details technically being covered by non-disclosure agreements between Apple and its developers.

It is unclear why it has taken Apple so long to crack down on the behavior, as the selling of beta slots has been an open secret for quite some time. iOS 5 is set for a public release sometime this "fall", with the general consensus being that it should appear alongside the iPhone 5 in September or October.

Update: Most of those reporting that they were affected by the issue note that they were running either Beta 1 or Beta 2 of iOS 5, both of which have expired. We have received scattered reports of users on Beta 3 and Beta 4 being affected, but those may be erroneous. Consequently, the issue may simply be expiring early beta versions as we initially supposed.

We are still looking for more reports of users on iOS Beta 3 or the current Beta 4 who can confirm being affected.