Hewlett-Packard strives to mend ties with Apple users and 10.9 is in the works.

From the floor of Macworld/iWorld comes a report that Hewlett-Packard would like to make amends and sell you a compatible printer.

Traffic from Macs running 10.9, as yet unannouncedby Apple, continues to grow. Will Apple announce it in Februrary, as it did 10.8?

Speaker of OS X,the 9th beta of 10.8.3 has been releasedto developers by Apple.

Get Media Master Server, but Avoid the iPad app

Ned Scott of Team XBMC Wiki deserves the credit for discovering this gem in the Mac App Store.

The gem in question is Media Master Server, which is a simple WebDAV server. You have to get it from the Mac App Store, so you must have at least one system running 10.6.6 or better.

It is an Intel-only application and I got it to work with 10.6.8 and 10.7.4 and 10.8.2. I tried copying the app to a partition running 10.5.8, but no luck.

I noticed that the iWork apps on my iPad could log into external file servers. They had to be iDisk (dead as of June 30, 2012) or WebDAV (what ?)

I did extensive Google searching on setting a WebDAV server for OS X. 9 out of 10 times, the answer came back, “Prepare to modify configuration files for the Apache Web Server built into OS X. This will not be easy.” So coming across Media Master Server was a Godsend. Bless you, who took the time to write this app.

Why would you want to use WebDAV? It allows you to access your Mac’s own Documents folder(s).

Compared to every other set of instructions I found for setting a WebDAV server, MediaMaster Server is dead simple. Just go to the Mac App Store from Snow Leopard or Lion or Mountain Lion, search for MediaMaster Server, and install it. It is a FREE app on the Mac, although there is a companion paid iOS app. For our purposes, though, we just need the Mac app portion. I will say something about the iPad app in a moment.

First of all, you have to set it up. To begin with, select the directory you want to share. (Figure 1)

As you can see, I set my root directory to my Users/thomasbriant directory (or folder), allowing me full access to all my user files on my iPad.

Next, I went to settings to set up my user name and password and the specific port I wanted to use. (Figure 2)

I left the password at the default “ipaduser” and the port at the default of “8000”. I also selected Secure HTTP.

On the iPad side, you’ll have to enter your full IP address, which will look like “https://111.222.3.44:8000” You will, of course, enter your own iP address instead of “111.222.3.44”

You’ll have a line to enter the username, which you can change. You’ll have a line to enter the password, which you have to make up yourself. (Figure 3)

The first time you do this, you may get a message about an invalid WebDAV certificate. Just please OK and proceed.

Next, you get a box showing all the directories you can access. (Figure 4)

Now for the Media Master iPad app-Two Thumbs Down

The free server app works great. I experienced no problems logging into my Mac Mini’s /Documents directory.

Since I had some gift credit on the iTunes Store, I decided I would try the iPad app for $3.99. Bad move. The app comes with no help to set it up. All the reviews of this app on its iTunes page were negative.

So having lost $3.99 to experience, I advise you to use the Media Master Mac app. It’s free. Avoid the paid iPad app. The developer needs to include help with it. At least a link to a Web page!

Thomas Briant

Editor and Media Manager, MacValley UG

Business Practices of Amazon and Apple

Amazon is satisfied with low margins, and Apple Turns over its inventory at an extraordinary rate.

(h/t to Arnold Woodworth)

An interesting article on Amazon's business strategy

http://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2012/11/28/amazon-and-margins

This article is several months old, but still interesting.

Wow! Apple Turns Over Its Inventory Once Every 5 *Days*

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/05/wow-apple-turns-over-its-inventory-once-every-5-days/257915/

The End of the Mac is coming and Apple is Thrilled

Business Insider reports that the end of the Mac is coming and Apple is thrilled. Note I said “the end of Mac” and not “the end of Apple”

(h/t to Arnold Woodworth)

Tom Briant

Editor and Media Manager, MacValley User Group

How Apple sets its prices

How Apple sets its prices

Apple products seem to be impervious to the discount game. In fact it’s so rare to find a significant price variance between retailers that, when it does happen, the event usually draws considerable press coverage.

With so many laws regulating competition among retailers, how does Apple pull off this amazing feat? It turns out that the company uses a fairly straightforward strategy, known as price maintenance, that takes advantage of the popularity of its products and exploits a quirk in the way retailers are allowed to advertise their merchandise.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2024257/how-apple-sets-its-prices.html

(h/t Arnold Woodworth)

News from the Web 1-15-2013.rtf

Bloomberg.com broke a story about Dell Computer seeking to become a private company through a leveraged buyout.

Dell’s problems are not unique. Many players in the Wintel computer market have struggled with sliding demand for desktop computers vs tablets and plummeting profit margins.

Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell, famously remarked in 1997 that Apple should liquidate the corporation and give the money back to the shareholders. This remark came at a time when Apple struggled. So Steve Jobs took pleasure some years later when Apple’s stock valuation exceeded that of Dell’s.

Michael Dell has also said that he would like to license OS X from Apple. He knew it wouldn’t happen, but he does admire OS X.

While some schadenfreude may be appropriate, Tim Cook and the rest of Apple’s executives will take this as a lesson that being on top of the market doesn’t guarantee you’ll be there in a few year’s time.

(h/t to Maclife.com)

CBS shoots itself in the foot over the DISH Hopper DVR

CBS has put itself in line for Chump of the Year by forcing its CNET division to take back the CES award for Best in Show given to DiSH Network’s commercial-skipping Hopper DVR. Ongoing litigation between CBS and Dish over the Hopper supposedly led to this decision. Read the whole story here. (h/t to The verge.com)

What is the Deal with Thunderbolt?

A recent AppleInsider.com story details the problems with the Thunderbolt super-duper high-speed interface. Apparently, Intel has become the stumbling block to increasing the number of Thunderbolt accessories. They are picky about whom they license Thunderbolt to.

The iPod turns 12-an image gallery (h/t to Arnold Woodworth)

iTunes turns 12: An image gallery

iTunes is now 12 years old.  For some nostalgia, click on the link below.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/01/itunes-turns-12-an-image-gallery/

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook had an inspirational message for his Chinese hosts earlier this week:

It's only a matter of time before mainland China overtakes the U.S. as Apple's most important market.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/01/11/apples-tim-cook-has-big-plans-for-china-and-so-does-china-mobile/iTunes turns 12: An image gallery

iTunes is now 12 years old.  For some nostalgia, click on the link below.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/01/itunes-turns-12-an-image-gallery/

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook had an inspirational message for his Chinese hosts earlier this week:

It's only a matter of time before mainland China overtakes the U.S. as Apple's most important market.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/01/11/apples-tim-cook-has-big-plans-for-china-and-so-does-china-mobile/