Airport Utility update
Wednesday, 01 February 2012
Airport Utility update — This completely new update, version 6.0, is in software Update. At just over 14MB, it sports a redesigned user interface reminiscent of the official iOS Airport Utility app on the iOS App Store. Pending Firmware Updates are flagged as numbers in red circles.
You use AirPort Utility to set up and manage Wi-Fi networks and AirPort base stations, including AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and Time Capsule. You can see a graphical overview of your Wi-Fi network and devices and change base station and network settings, or manage advanced features such as security modes, wireless channels, and more.
For the latest information on AirPort software, check Software Update in System Preferences or the following Apple website: Apple Support Downloads.
Learn more about Apple Wi-Fi online. As AppleBitch points out, it’s possible to install the new version (6.0) of the software alongside a previous version (5.6) with the old UI so if you aren’t happy with the update quite yet then it’s possible to run the old Airport Utility until such time that you are. Indeed, the new Airport Utility has dropped support for some of the older Airport Express base stations and users are being advised to use the old version of the utility to manage these base stations.
The company also released firmware updates for both of their Airport base station models as well as an update for the Time Capsule. These can obviously be updated using the new Airport Utility software.
Final Cut Pro X gets big update — Apple released a fairly big update for its Final Cut Pro X video editing app on Tuesday. It only tips the version number slightly up to 10.0.3, but it brings a couple of major additions pro users have been clamoring for. Apple clearly wants to win the hearts of FCP 7 users who felt the new version made too many concessions to novice users.
The two big new features in the 10.0.3 update, which is free through the Mac App Store, are multicam editing, allowing users to automatically sync a maximum of 64 angles of video and photos, and a beta version of a broadcast monitoring feature that works with both Thunderbolt and PCIe cards. The removal of multi-camera editing was a major complaint among FCP 7 video editors, since it made combining photo and video from multiple camera sources a much more complicated process.
The update also brings improved image and colour controls, including the introduction of colour sampling, edge adjustment and light wrap editing abilities, which means you’ll be able to depend more on FCP X directly, and less on external programs like Motion when working with complex keying challenges.
Apple pulls ahead of HP — Apple has pulled ahead of Hewlett Packard as the largest vendor of PCs in the world, thanks to its Q4 iPad sales. Steve Jobs may have declared it the “post-PC era,” but Apple just became the biggest maker of personal computers in the world… though it mostly has the iPad to thank for that.
Tim Cook's first major hire — And his first major appointment since taking the reins at Apple is to bring in the head of British technology retailer Dixons, John Browett. He comes in to fill the gap left by the departure of Ron Johnson, the man who spent a decade building the Apple Store into a force to be reckoned with.
Hands on with the Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt Adapter — Seagate’s GoFlex series of external storage devices are about flexibility. By using removable adapters, the GoFlex drives can connect to FireWire 800, USB 3.0, eSATA, to a network, to a TV, and now to Thunderbolt. Macworld takes a look.
