Inside Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: AirDrop limited to modern Macs

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  • Reply 21 of 54
    tribalogicaltribalogical Posts: 1,182member
    Oh, forgot the third …



    I'm far from a great writer but… this post author has been posting quite a bit lately (a new writer for AI?)… his posts aren't bad, but there are a few grammatical pet peeves I have (pardon the OCD) that he triggers regularly. One of them so consistently, I decided to comment…



    "There's already a couple emerging standards aiming to do what AirDrop does."



    My old English teacher would've told me pretty directly, 'this is a horribly constructed sentence!' and sent me back to rewrite it…



    So here we go. "There ARE already a couple…"



    I notice he uses "a couple <item>" quite often in his articles… but please, it's "a couple OF…"



    So rewritten, "There are already a couple of emerging standards aiming to do what AirDrop does."



    Still not great, but less "lazy" feeling… and it doesn't trigger the "grammar marm" in me ))





    I've noticed quite a few new contributors to AI lately. And a huge increase in fairly glaring spelling and grammar errors… quite a few articles look as though there has been no proofing or editing done at all…



    AI folks? One of the reasons I come here first and most often is the quality of your writing, not just the topics. You need a good proof-reader and a good editor as part of a strong "journalistic" team… please keep the quality of your content AND delivery high! I'm sure I'm not alone in appreciating what you've been doing so well, for so long now…



    sorry for the nit-pick… I'm done )
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  • Reply 22 of 54
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tribalogical View Post


    Two things came quickly to mind (well, three, but the third is a bit off-topic?):



    1. My first thought was regarding AirDrop connections to iOS devices. Aside from file transfers, I use my iPad as a remote controller/instrument for composing/producing music? Apps like TouchAble to remote-control Ableton Live, and many others, most of which are dependent on having a "server utility" running on the desktop to aid in the connections. Since CoreMIDI support was added to iOS, many can now use an ad-hoc WiFi network directly via an Audio-Midi Setup session, no extra utility required? but it's still a few more hoops to jump through than I'd like?



    Since AirDrop essentially emulates a 'temporary ad-hoc network', it seems it could do the same job as the current ad-hoc network arrangement, just minus all the setup part? I hope AirDrop support gets added to iOS, and we can replace the ad-hoc network setup steps? just "plug and play" networks as you need them...



    2. Security. Bluetooth isn't too bad, I haven't heard of devices getting hacked over an open "invitation" port on Bluetooth. So maybe it isn't any less secure using Bonjour/AirDrop? I turn off the SSID broadcast on my WiFi network, and also run in stealth mode? I prefer not to invite casual hackers by revealing my network? maybe over-paranoid, but there it is.



    I just wonder how long it will be before someone hacks open an AirDrop connection? Are there any potential "holes" there? I might not want to walk around publicly announcing my connected machine everywhere I go...



    Bluetooth as implemented on mobile phones is quite insecure, I'm sure some of us have seen Bluetooth viruses being sent around in the pre-smartphone era. You have your phone on BT discoverable and bing! Somebody sent you something... Oh look, it's a virus! I wonder if that has changed. Anyway the range is poor compared to WiFi.



    But yeah, quick Googling doesn't reveal how AirDrop might be enabled or disabled. Strangely it is not in the Sharing Preference Pane.
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  • Reply 23 of 54
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,067member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I think you're right about this being an afterthought.



    That's not what he said.
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  • Reply 24 of 54
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tribalogical View Post


    AI folks? One of the reasons I come here first and most often is the quality of your writing...



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  • Reply 25 of 54
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    Lots of parentheses in the story, unnecessary ones. A lot of what is written in parentheses can be easily rewritten without them, or even dropping the parentheses in favor commas. Oh well.



    I looked through the WiFi direct white paper, there doesn't seem to be anything in WiFi Direct that requires special hardware on a computer. I can't quite grasp what hardware feature this requires.
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  • Reply 26 of 54
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tribalogical View Post




    One of the reasons I come here first and most often is the quality of your writing




    LOL

    Good one.
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  • Reply 27 of 54
    felmanfelman Posts: 21member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tribalogical View Post


    Oh, forgot the third ?



    I'm far from a great writer but? this post author has been posting quite a bit lately (a new writer for AI?)



    No, not a new writer. Quite the opposite actually. One of the most Pro-Apple at this! This post is actually pretty neutral! But look for in depth reviews of Apple products or technologies and you'll see he quite likes the fruit!



    Not that I complain! That's why I read it!
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  • Reply 28 of 54
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tribalogical View Post


    Oh, forgot the third ?



    I'm far from a great writer but? this post author has been posting quite a bit lately (a new writer for AI?)? his posts aren't bad, but there are a few grammatical pet peeves I have (pardon the OCD) that he triggers regularly. One of them so consistently, I decided to comment?



    "There's already a couple emerging standards aiming to do what AirDrop does."



    My old English teacher would've told me pretty directly, 'this is a horribly constructed sentence!' and sent me back to rewrite it?



    So here we go. "There ARE already a couple?"



    I notice he uses "a couple <item>" quite often in his articles? but please, it's "a couple OF?"



    So rewritten, "There are already a couple of emerging standards aiming to do what AirDrop does."



    Still not great, but less "lazy" feeling? and it doesn't trigger the "grammar marm" in me ))





    I've noticed quite a few new contributors to AI lately. And a huge increase in fairly glaring spelling and grammar errors? quite a few articles look as though there has been no proofing or editing done at all?



    AI folks? One of the reasons I come here first and most often is the quality of your writing, not just the topics. You need a good proof-reader and a good editor as part of a strong "journalistic" team? please keep the quality of your content AND delivery high! I'm sure I'm not alone in appreciating what you've been doing so well, for so long now?



    sorry for the nit-pick? I'm done )



    LULz! u must b a n00b here! nobody in internets speak teh kingz english!
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  • Reply 29 of 54
    gari22gari22 Posts: 10member
    Your old english teacher would be wrong to do so. A couple is a single unit, so is treated as a singular. Note 'a couple'.



    One couple is two people.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tribalogical View Post


    Oh, forgot the third ?



    I'm far from a great writer but? this post author has been posting quite a bit lately (a new writer for AI?)? his posts aren't bad, but there are a few grammatical pet peeves I have (pardon the OCD) that he triggers regularly. One of them so consistently, I decided to comment?



    "There's already a couple emerging standards aiming to do what AirDrop does."



    My old English teacher would've told me pretty directly, 'this is a horribly constructed sentence!' and sent me back to rewrite it?



    So here we go. "There ARE already a couple?"



    I notice he uses "a couple <item>" quite often in his articles? but please, it's "a couple OF?"



    So rewritten, "There are already a couple of emerging standards aiming to do what AirDrop does."



    Still not great, but less "lazy" feeling? and it doesn't trigger the "grammar marm" in me ))





    I've noticed quite a few new contributors to AI lately. And a huge increase in fairly glaring spelling and grammar errors? quite a few articles look as though there has been no proofing or editing done at all?



    AI folks? One of the reasons I come here first and most often is the quality of your writing, not just the topics. You need a good proof-reader and a good editor as part of a strong "journalistic" team? please keep the quality of your content AND delivery high! I'm sure I'm not alone in appreciating what you've been doing so well, for so long now?



    sorry for the nit-pick? I'm done )



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  • Reply 30 of 54
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gari22 View Post


    Your old english teacher would be wrong to do so. A couple is a single unit, so is treated as a singular. Note 'a couple'.



    One couple is two people.



    I will admit I slept through most of High School English, but as I recall, a couple was only a single unit when not modifying another noun -- in this cast though it would be an adjective.



    noun usage -- A couple walked along the beach at sunrise.



    Adjective usage -- A couple OF kids knocked on my door for candy last Halloween.
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  • Reply 31 of 54
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by a_greer View Post


    I will admit I slept through most of High School English, but as I recall, a couple was only a single unit when not modifying another noun -- in this cast though it would be an adjective.



    noun usage -- A couple walked along the beach at sunrise.



    Adjective usage -- A couple OF kids knocked on my door for candy last Halloween.



    I usually dodge that problem by rewriting it:



    Two kids knocked on my door for candy last Halloween.
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  • Reply 32 of 54
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Regarding the grammar: It's only wrong to you if you think it's wrong. Inkswamp said it best (see my sig).
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  • Reply 33 of 54
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gari22 View Post


    Your old english teacher would be wrong to do so. A couple is a single unit, so is treated as a singular. Note 'a couple'.



    One couple is two people.



    An Old English teacher would have thought it all incorrect and likely felt that modern English was, in fact, woefully degraded from the pure English of the 8th century.
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  • Reply 34 of 54
    hudson1hudson1 Posts: 800member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Regarding the grammar: It's only wrong to you if you think it's wrong. Inkswamp said it best (see my sig).



    If one is constantly stumbling over the bad grammar then it is both wrong and poorly written. They're not arbitrary rules, either.
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  • Reply 35 of 54
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hudson1 View Post


    If one is constantly stumbling over the bad grammar then it is both wrong and poorly written. They're not arbitrary rules, either.



    1) I stumble over the other 6000 active languages I don't know, but that doesn't make them wrong or poorly written, it just means my comprehension and understanding is poor.



    2) Rules are made up. There can be some universals between man that decides what is natural or right the way kiki and booba are universally understood but that's not a rule, that's psychology. If you don't think so tell me why there is an additional letter on 'wake' for the 3rd of these sentence: "I wake up", "They wake up", "She wakes up". It feels wrong to use "She wake up" but it's arbitrary.
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  • Reply 36 of 54
    tribalogicaltribalogical Posts: 1,182member
    I actually thought my on-topic observations were more interesting… but instead I started a long grammar discussion! Oi vey!



    I agree, "couple" can indeed be used as a 'singular noun', as in "they are a couple"... and it can also be a verb, "trains and humans often couple". In this article, it's being used more like an adjective, e.g. "a couple OF trains (coupling discreetly…?)". In this case, "of" is the 'standard' separator… it's omitted pretty commonly in spoken (U.S.) English, but not typically in the written form.



    It's personal preference mostly, but I really don't care for "spoken English" being applied informally to "written English" (unless it's creative fiction, and advances the story, e.g. "A Clockwork Orange")… there's a differentiation there that keeps the written word more readable and understandable. When it lapses into mirroring the spoken word, it looks and feels (and simply IS) sloppy… especially in a journalistic context…



    That's all I'm sayin'… :P





    So, how about Airdrop security? Will it hold up? Bonjour seems to be pretty solid, so maybe it's "safe" enough to use out in the wild? Ya think?
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  • Reply 37 of 54
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    Lots of parentheses in the story, unnecessary ones. A lot of what is written in parentheses can be easily rewritten without them, or even dropping the parentheses in favor commas. Oh well.



    I looked through the WiFi direct white paper, there doesn't seem to be anything in WiFi Direct that requires special hardware on a computer. I can't quite grasp what hardware feature this requires.



    To quote that feeble smartass:



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splash-reverse View Post


    Perhaps you could do some independent further reading like smart people/intellectual would do.







    You want to know what hardware feature this requires?



    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4783



    MacBook Pro (Late 2008 or newer)*

    MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)

    MacBook (Late 2008 or newer)*

    iMac (Early 2009 or newer)

    Mac Mini (Mid 2010 or newer)

    Mac Pro (Early 2009 with AirPort Extreme card, or Mid 2010)

    * The MacBook Pro (17-Inch Late 2008) and the white MacBook (Late 2008) do not support AirDrop.



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  • Reply 38 of 54
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Haggar View Post


    An Apple logo?



    I guess. But Airdrop doesn't appear to be or use WiFi Direct. Not that I'm sure about that part.
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  • Reply 39 of 54
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by a_greer View Post


    I will admit I slept through most of High School English, but as I recall, a couple was only a single unit when not modifying another noun -- in this cast though it would be an adjective.



    noun usage -- A couple walked along the beach at sunrise.



    Adjective usage -- A couple OF kids knocked on my door for candy last Halloween.



    I believe the above is correct. At least for British, Australian and "proper" English taught in the colonies and ex-colonies of the British Empire.
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  • Reply 40 of 54
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    I guess. But Airdrop doesn't appear to be or use WiFi Direct. Not that I'm sure about that part.



    Is this another FaceTime in the making? Open standard or not?
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