flop ya mac out

The Google Van, or a subcontractor for Google (similar as Skyhook in the U.S.) has been trawling the streets of Melbourne and beyond in preparation for a looming Australian iPhone launch.

Choosing ‘Locate Me’ in the iPhone Maps app now reads location settings from Wifi hotspots in and around the city, in addition to using Cell Tower Triangulation, giving yet another ominous sign that the iPhone is just that little bit closer to launch here.

Locate Me data is becoming increasingly more accurate right across the state, with readers reporting being located to their nearest street corner, as far out of Melbourne as Croydon.

Using Locate Me with Wifi turned off.

Using Locate Me with Wifi enabled.

Although iPhone firmware 1.1.4 unlocked does not automatically support the Map app’s Locate Me feature, it can be enabled by loading a 3rd party app Triangulation app first, which somehow tricks the iPhone into enabling the Triangulation service on the device.

How far out have you found Wifi Triangulation in Melbourne?

In this week’s podcast, Dan & Jase look at Apple crash reports, 3G iPhone rumours in Australia, and other businesses using Macs to promote their non-Mac products! Click here to listen with iTunes.

I go and buy an expensive new external HDD and the new Airport Extreme Base Station, only to find out that to my horror Apple look to have pulled the support for wireless backups!

Last week the Apple website told us this:

“Effortless meets wireless.
With a hard disk connected to your AirPort Extreme Base Station, all the Macs in your house can use Time Machine to back up wirelessly. Simply select your AirPort Disk as the backup disk for each computer and the whole family can enjoy the benefits of Time Machine.”

Now we get a whole lot of this:

“Pick a disk. Any disk.
You can designate just about any HFS+ formatted FireWire or USB drive connected to a Mac as a Time Machine backup drive. Time Machine can also back up to another Mac running Leopard with Personal File Sharing, Leopard Server, or Xsan storage devices.”

Without any of this:

“a hard disk connected to your AirPort Extreme Base Station”

Apple’s 300 leopard features page is disturbingly absent of any wireless Time Machine action, too.

But then ‘listrophy’ of Digg alerted me to this:

So what’s it going to be, Apple?

Is this a way of saying ‘nuh-uh’ to wireless backups, or are just putting other features first?

My thinking is that wireless backups is way too-cool a feature to not be touting. Perhaps it works, but not terribly well at the moment, so they are avoiding a backlash by never actually saying it’s a go to begin with!

All will be revealed tomorrow in any case, when I line up to what is bound to be a lack of line at the Australian leopard launch. Australia just hasn’t quite mastered its Apple mayhem yet.

We will keep you posted.