What gives Apple? What about Target Disk Mode???

The iPod 2.0 software is now available on iTunes! I just hit restore and it popped up

UPDATE

I just connected my iPod Touch to my computer and upgraded it via iTunes. I didn’t have to buy the software update for the App Store or anything. It just works? I’m not sure why. I purchased the January Software update so this might be related to that. Any ideas cloud?

UPDATE: I just updated another iPod Touch and it worked!!

$20 for Mail, Maps, Widgets and Home screen? No I don’t think so Apple. Keep your eyes posted here for any workarounds that might pop up

So I had a lot of traffic and comments on my previous entry about how to install Leopard from an ISO without burning a DL-DVD. With that, the number one question everyone has been asking me is, “Can you an iPod to install Leopard?” and the answer is an astounding Yes! Follow these steps to use your iPod.Prerequisites:

• You must have an iPod with 8GB (that means 8GB iPod Nano, any HD based iPod, etc)
• Note: the iPod Touch + iPhone will not work for this. You need to have a click-wheel iPod that supports Disk Mode
• A Leopard ISO

UPDATED: 11/18/2007Important Notes:

• Intel based Macs can only boot from USB devices using the GUID partition scheme (this means 5G iPods, 2 & 3G iPod Nanos)
• PowerPC (PPC) based Macs (ie G3, G4, G5 Processors) can only boot using Firewire devices using the Apple Partition Map scheme (all firewire iPods) 
• I have had a lot of people have random problems when restoring the disc image to the iPods. Please make sure you have an exact image of the Install DVD. If there are any inconsistencies, there will be problems restoring the image. Please check the checksum of the images.

Procedure:

1. Reset your iPod and force it into Disk Mode – Press and hold Menu + Center until you see the Apple logo. Then Press and Hold Center + Play/Pause. The screen should turn to gray-scale and show “OK to Disconnect” (circa old old ipods).
2. Connect the iPod to your computer (do not use a USB hub if possible).
3. iTunes will launch automatically and probably start syncing. Make sure “Enable Disk Use” is checked on the settings for iTunes and press Sync one more time.
4. Quit iTunes and launch the Activity Monitor and quit the iTunes Helper.
5. You should still see the iPod listed on your desktop as a mounted drive. If you don’t see the iPod mounted on the desktop, return to step 1.
6. Open Disk Utility
7. Select the iPod (the top one, mine is labeled 74.5 GB Apple iPod Media) then select the Partition tab.
8. Change the selection from “Current Partition Scheme” to “1 Partition”. Click on Options and select GUID Partition Table and press OK. (NOTE: If you are going to use a PowerPC based Mac, ie G4 or G5, you need to select Apple Partition Map here. GUID is for Intel Macs ONLY)
9. Give the Partition a name and select Partition. The system will ask you to authenticate.
10. Click on the Restore tab and drag the iPod partition to the Destination field
11. Drag the Leopard image file to the Source field and press Restore. 
12. Once complete, open System Preferences and go to the Start up Disk option. Make sure you see the iPod listed there. Select the appropriate drive and click restart.   
13. Install Leopard!

** If you are using a PowerPC Based Mac (G4, G5), you must use the Startup Disk utility in System Preferences to select the startup volume and reboot from this tool. Notes:

• It’s really important the iPod stay in Forced Disk mode. If you try and boot up the Mac with the iPod connected but not in Disk Mode, it won’t do anything

Video Guide: 

Full Resolution Quicktime MOV Because of the amount of feedback I get on this article, I am disabling comments on this post and would like to invite readers to discuss on the newly created forum, http://nickganga.com/forum. 

Hi everyone. Since there is so much feedback to this article, I’m going to have to close the comments. If you want to chat with me, use my GTalk Widget on the sidebar or send me a message on Twitter. Thanks.

I just used the new search feature in the OS X version of Safari 3 (beta) and I have to say I am impressed. Took them long enough! Try it out Apple + F

I ordered an Apple TV back when it was launched at MacWorld in January along with an XtremeMac HDMI & Toslink Optical cable. Well on February 2 I received a notification from Apple that part of my order had shipped. When I checked they had said the HDMI cable went out. Well, FedEx came today but it was no HDMI cable. They sent me an XtremeMac RCA Audio cable. So I called Apple and to my delight, they told me to just keep the cable and re-added the correct item to my order. In addition, they upgraded my entire order to overnight when the Apple TV Ships. I love how Apple keeps their customers happy.

While I was bored surfing through the Apple Online Store this evening, I scrolled through all the way to the bottom and noticed that familiar BillMeLater icon. Apparently now they have the Apple Credit Account & BillMeLater financing. Interesting if you ask me. I never thought I would see a company like Apple use a financing service like BillMeLater.

When I purchased my Intel iMac in February, I also purchased iWork ‘06 with it. Problem is, now I need to restore my system using the restore media and I don’t want to loose my licensed copy of the software. I emailed the support team before the holiday in an attempt to find a resolution to my rather quickery problem. They wrote me back yesterday and suggested I call the Apple Care support line. Well, that’s exactly what I did today. Half expecting them to say “Sorry, you need to purchase another copy,” I gave my rep my web order number and after a few minutes on hold was pleasantly surprised. Rather than attempt to find the serial number they told me they were going to just re-order the software for me, at not additional charge, with standard overnight All I have to say is, Apple, you ROCK!

Apple today released iWeb Update 1.1.1 weighing in at at hefty 88.8 MB. The only description given, however, is that it addresses problems with syncing up to .Mac. Sounds like a pretty heavy update just for some minor .Mac fixes…

Apple Support

As I am sure you all know, I am an Apple freak. Now that we are clear on that, it looks like the record labels may finally give up on their quest to get ‘variable pricing’ on the iTunes Music Store. Thank you Steve. All Hail the iPod!

via New York Post

Apple today announced an upgrade to their systems management suite, Apple Remote Desktop 3. With over 50 new features, Apple has done it again stepping up a notch. As with all Apple products, I take the time to check out every aspect of the website Apple puts up for it. Remote Desktop 3 was no exception. I did notice something interesting though. On the tutorial listed “Easy Setup” , if you move the play head button to just past the triangle under the Finder face, the video is setting up a client computer and there is an additional System Preferences button I haven’t seen before. It says Processor and has a picture of a chip. Is this from a new Mac that has yet to be released, or a special development style one? Could they be installing it on a non-Apple computer?!

EDIT (April 21, 2006)
So one of my Apple Genius Bar friends clarified what the icon is for. When you install the XCode and other developer tools the processor icon shows up so developers can control how their applications work in multithread environments. Cool none-the-less.

After the major announcement last year that Apple was going to switch to Intel processors and the surprise announcement of the Intel iMac and MacBook Pro in January (six months ahead of schedule), Apple has done it again. Shortly after a few programmers were able to get BIOS emulation to work on the Mac, Apple released a new product BootCamp.

More and more people are buying and loving Macs. To make this choice simply
irresistible, Apple will include technology in the next major release of Mac
OS X, Leopard, that lets you install and run the Windows XP operating system
on your Mac. Called Boot Camp (for now), you can download a public beta
today.

Obviously only compatible with the new Apple computers with Intel chips (MacBook Pro, iMac, MacMini), BootCamp not only allows users to setup and install Windows XP, it even burns a CD with the core drivers (Graphics, Networking, Audio, Airport Wireless, Bluetooth, The Eject Key, and Brightness Control) for Windows. This was the main problem with the hack-around method before as users were faced with unstable performance.

The real question now is, how well does it perform. Shortly after the announcement of BootCamp, I downloaded and installed Windows XP on my 20′ iMac with an Intel Core Duo processor running with 2 GB RAM. The install went very quickly and as I began to install applications (Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Macromedia Studio I noticed that they were installing faster than on my PCs. I launched Adobe Photoshop and began working with some RAW images. I applied some filters and effects and the results were astounding. The performance completely blew my current PC setup out of the water! Illustrator and Flash gave similar results. The verdict? Not only does the iMac perform amazingly with OS X, it simply fies with Microsoft Windows.

As a funny side note, the BootCamp site has a silly disclaimer on the side:

Word to the Wise
Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC.
That means it’ll be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world.
So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft Windows security fixes.

Apple, you never cease to amaze me.

Dissapointment from Apple -
After all the speculation that Apple was going to do something (i.e. announce a new product, have a aniverasry sale) for it’s 30th birthday, they did not. In the grand scheme of things though, I guess they do have until 1Pm EST (10AM PST) to make some sort of announcement, although prospects are looking dim now. Although some may say that Apple didn’t need to announce any new products or do anything special for their birthday, they really could have made a media day out it. Oh well, their loss I guess.

Some funny April Foolgle Jokes:
Area 51
Google Romance
Google Rooms

Well, it looks like the day after I make a post about Apple not releasing the Universal versions of Final Cut, today they are shipping. Go figure.

Is anybody other than me a little concerned that we have yet to see the light of day for the Universal versions of Final Cut Studio? I sent in my Soundtrack Pro over a month ago and still have yet to hear anything, although Apple keeps saying the universals will be shipping March 2006. With the end of march approaching, I am getting a little nervous…

Ok, so since we all know the iPod Video 2nd Gen is coming, and so is the iTunes Movie Store, isn’t it logical to think that some sort of Airport AV product is coming too? If Apple is going to start charging $9.99 for feature length films on the Movie Store (that have strict DRM on them and no burning rights), I can’t see consumers being too happy about only being able to watch it on their iPods (whether or not you can connect the iPod to a TV). After the recent updates to Airport Express (allowing you to play at multiple speakers simultaneously), I think they have some sort of Airport HD-AV product coming soon. I mean, what better way to ensure consumers are happy with the iTunes Movie store than to embed it into both the portable market and the living room. That would be quite a birthday present from Apple come April 1
Thoughts anyone?