Yes thats right, Google have this morning released the much anticipated maps application for iPhone. My initial impressions of it are great! Its a really functional and nice looking app, in fact I’d go as far to say that it is well ahead of the Android version of Google Maps at this stage. As I understand Google will be updating the Android app to have the same look and feel of the iOS one. It’s obvious where they have been spending their development time recently and it’s certainly paid off.

Running on the iPhone 5 it is very smooth, street view works very well and the screen layout is good.

Recently I paid a visit to one of our regular customers. We’ve been servicing his aging PC for about 4 years now. The customer was very interested in purchasing a new replacement for their computer and wanted advice. I pretty much knew his needs, email, web, photos some documents and Christmas card labels etc. Now like a lot of people, he knows how to do the main tasks he needs to fine, any other problems and he gives us a quick call or we go out to see him. His PC is about 8 years old, running Windows XP and desperately needs replacing.

The obvious move was to advise him on a new PC, maybe a Lenovo laptop running Windows but wait, Windows 8 had just been released! I could probably still get him a new PC with Windows 7 but everything I saw came with Windows 8. Should I look for something with Windows 7 or maybe consider a Mac for him.

Now moving from Windows XP to Windows 8 is a pretty big  jump for a lot of people, why not consider a move to a Mac running OS X? This would do all the tasks he needs nicely and come s loaded with most of the software he would need to get them done. He was not set on a laptop so I talked to him about the Mac Mini.

The Mac Mini series has just been refreshed by Apple so now is a good time to buy. He already has a mouse and keyboard he likes and his monitor is fine too, the Mac Mini (along with a suitable video adaptor) would replace his old PC just fine.  So we placed the order at 11am on Friday. This morning I got a call from him to say it had arrived, I’ve set up an appointment to go out and swap things over for him later in the week.

I posted an article over on our Google+ page recently regarding an issue affecting some models of MacBook which Ubertechs may be able to repair free of charge even if your Mac is out of warranty. Please see https://plus.google.com/u/0/108304950224331892682/posts/VgnKNhbQj17

Well the iPhone has been available for a few days now and it’s being well received as you would expect apart from one feature, Maps! Apple decided to get rid Google Maps from iOS and introduce their own version based on data from several sources, including Tom Tom and Waze. The problem is, Google has had many years head start to perfect their maps application, data and infrastructure. It seems Apple has had invested maybe 1 to 2 years work in to their Maps and it shows. Their are many errors in the data, incomplete areas and whole towns which have moved from there true locations!

It  looks like Apple will have to throw a whole lot of money at this and a lot more resource and years work to get it anywhere near the quality we see in Google Maps. Aside from ‘mapgate’ (recall it was antennagate when the iPhone 4 was released) the iPhone hardware is very nice indeed. The build quality and finish is excellent and the speed of the device is said to be faster in most tests than any other smartphone currently available, even Samsungs flagship S3 device.

iOS 6, the new revision of the operating system on the iPhone 5 has had many enhancements and new features added. It still features the same basic layout as previous versions and you would be hard pushed to tell the difference if you quickly glanced at the screen from iOS 6 to iOS 3. However this design is tried and trusted and has many millions of users and fans worldwide, I guess Apple don’t want to change things too radically and why would they if it works well.

I’ve had a quick ‘play’ with my sons iPhone 5 and it certainly is a very nice device. It feels great in the hand, very light and the longer screen is an improvement. The camera has been slightly improved and takes better low light photos.

Whilst we don’t repair iPhones here at Ubertechs we are generally mad about all things Apple! Later today at the Yerba Buena conference centre in San Francisco Apple will announce to the world its much anticipated  iPhone 5.

There have been many rumours as to what this new device will bring, there have also been many numerous mock devices and photos and even videos of what is purported to be the new device. Myself, I’m a little sceptical about this as in the past Apple have always guarded their upcoming plans very seriously. It just seems this time they have either been very shoddy in keeping things mum or, they have purposely leaked information to put people off the real scent of the new iPhone!
I’d like to think it is the latter myself as I can’t say I am altogether blown away with these leaked photos and sketchy specifications. Either way we won’t have long to wait until the announcement, it all kicks off at 6pm UK time today, 12th September.

Whilst there will be no live video stream to keep up with the announcement, here are some of our favorite sites to follow the event on:-

http://live.gizmodo.com/

http://live.arstechnica.com/apple-september-2012-event-its-almost-here/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-iphone-5-liveblog/

It’s been sometime since I posted an update here! Things have been very busy at Ubertechs HQ that’s for certain.
We continue to repair many Apple computers in the area and we look after the IT needs for an increasing number of small businesses.
We have a presence on Google+ and that will likely be the main place that we post updates to our blog from now on.
You can find our Google+ page at https://plus.google.com/u/1/b/108304950224331892682/

We’ve been in our existing location at White Cross for almost one year! Things have gone from strength to strength and whilst at the time of moving in to the new office I thought it would last us for a few years it soon became apparent that we need a bigger office! Our new office is almost twice the size, much cooler (temp!) and has high ceilings. This will give us greater space to fit more workbenches in and allow us to have more storage space, something we are lacking in our current location.

Our new offices are much easier to find too! We are moving to The Gatehouse building, which is the location of the main reception for White Cross. Our new workshop is located just behind the reception area so you won’t have any trouble finding us!

I’ll post some pictures and an update here when we have finished the move.

I went to visit a local hotel/restaurant in Lancaster this weekend to carry out a wireless survey. Their current Wi-Fi solution is not providing consistent coverage in their hotel rooms. I took along the equipment you can see in the photo above.

• MacBook Pro 13″ (ideal size & power consumption for this type of work)
• 2 x Meraki indoor units. Very small and neat wireless mesh access points.
• 2.4GHz Wi-Spy USB spectrum analyser.
• Power supplies and aerials for the Meraki units.

I was able to quickly setup the Meraki units, one at the location of the existing BT router, the other in a different part of the hotel but  located so it still picked up a reasonable signal from the gateway unit. I gave the units 5 minutes to boot up and configure themselves. I could then run the Meraki site survey software which allowed me to see the speed of the wireless connection and get an idea of the signal quality between the gateway unit and the remote unit.

You can see in the above picture I am running the site survey software which is built in to the Meraki units, to test the link. I also ran the Chanalyzer software which comes with the Wi-Spy spectrum analyser to get an idea of which part of the 2.4GHz would be best suited for the Meraki network.

I was in and out within an hour and in a position to quote the customer for an installation.

Yesterday I ordered a 13 inch MacBook Pro at 1:30pm, direct from Apple. Today at 10:30am it arrived!
Several months ago I sold my 12 inch  iBook which I’d used as my main laptop for a few years, I’d been getting by with a small Acer Netbook as my main Ubertechs ‘work’ laptop for some time. It was fine for basic diagnostics and network testing but it had no storage for data backups and the screen and keyboard were just too small for any extended work. The MacBook fills the gap left by the iBook nicely. It’s really fast and just the right size for carrying about.
As we are now an Authorised Apple Service Provider the MacBook is very convenient for creating diagnostic Apple service disks as we often require for testing Apple hardware.

Well it’s been a long time in the making but finally we have our long awaited Apple Authorised Service Provider status! This is a big achievement  for us and something we started working towards back in February of 2010.
It means we can offer a repair service which is fully authorised by Apple and allows us to carry out repairs on most Apple equipment, both in warranty and out of warranty.
So no more driving down to Manchester Arndale or the Trafford Centre with your Mac, just pop in to our workshop at White Cross in Lancaster and we will take care of you! We are the only such repair centre for many miles around. For the time being though, use the contact page to make sure we are at the workshop and not out on a call-out.

Find more details on our Apple pages here.