misses

So, the new MacBook Pros have made their debut, and as always we're left re-evaluating our list of features we hoped Apple would add. We had a rundown on our most-desired MacBook features back in January when the iPad was announced. Revisiting that list, we're happy to say that some indeed came to pass.

Intel's new Core i5 and i7 CPUs made it into this MacBook Pro generation, with the exception of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

(What we said then: "We're not saying that any laptop without Intel's new mainstream CPUs is ready for the recycling bin, but now would be an ideal time to update the processors inside the entire line, to take advantage of the improved power efficiency and other advantages of the new Core i-series chips.")

We're also pleasantly surprised to see that Apple included automatic graphics switching, enabling MacBook Pros to enjoy a similarly seamless way to activate and deactivate discrete graphics in a way comparable to what we've seen in Nvidia's new Optimus laptop graphics.

There's even another boost to battery life, too. Yet, despite addressing a few of our biggest wishes, a lot of features remain to be addressed. Here's our short list of five, culled from our previous post with a few new additions. … Read more

OK, so your "Missed Connection" post on Craigslist never led to a great romance with that cute hipster who looked your way on the L train--let alone an e-mail from anyone vaguely resembling her. But those hopeful words you sent out into the ether may not be lost after all.

Brooklyn illustrator Sophie Blackall is immortalizing Missed Connections posts in the form of some pretty wonderful and whimsical paintings. And who knows? Maybe your note to that girl with the nose ring and headphones is now a work of art.

"Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections Web sites," Blackall writes on her blog. "Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I'm trying to pin a few of them down."

Her original paintings, created with Chinese ink and watercolor, measure about 11 inches by 17 inches and have names like "Hairy Bearded Swimmer," "I Had a Blue Hat," and "Seeking Girl Who Bit Me TWICE Last Night While We Were Dancing."

Blackall sells 8.5 inch by 11 inch prints of her illustrations for $40 (with free shipping) on crafts site Etsy and plans to release a book based on the series in 2012. … Read more

On her way back from the airport the other day, our photo editor Sarah found a Kindle in the back seat of a New York City taxi cab. Being the honest person she is, she asked me if there was any way to get it back to the owner.

Well, it's actually not that easy to track down the owner of Kindle, especially if that person has a fairly common first and last name, as the owner of this Kindle does. We actually e-mailed him at the Kindle address that's registered to the device but it doesn't … Read more

Alison Rosen is back on the program today, and no, she's not really shrinking. That said, she is mystified by Craigslist missed connections, so we debate about what sort of scenario would lend itself to the use of the site's bizarre feature.

Next stop, Cougarville--better known as San Fransisco--where we investigate a disturbing new expo: The National Single Cougars Convention. Should cougars be given their own convention or should they be hunted in public, the natural way?

Finally, it seems we're just never going to get rid of Autotune. Especially now that the new T-Pain Autotune iPhone app makes robot voice manipulation so easy--as if it wasn't to begin with.

We've got all this and more on today's 404. Enjoy the weekend! (No show on Monday).

Check out Alison's blog or The Daily Alison.

The University of Mississippi is letting the world in to observe its power consumption in real time.

As part of a green initiative guided by its Office of Campus Sustainability, the university is installing SmartSynch's SmartMeters to monitor and transmit data on the power consumption of lights, appliances, computers, and climate control systems in its buildings.

The SmartMeters contain software and hardware that give electrical meters their own Internet Protocol (IP) address and communicate data via the types of wireless networks used for cell phones back to a centralized virtual dashboard that can be accessed by utilities or customers.… Read more

The iPhone OS 3.0 Camera Roll is running out of film for some iPhone users. A handful of photographers on Apple's discussion board are reporting that pictures taken with the iPhone camera and screen captures are disappearing from the iPhone's onboard photo library.

The bug, according to these reports, occurs when the photo names generated by the iPhone reach IMG_10000.xxx or higher, where the xxx represents either a JPG for photos, PNG for screen snapshots, or MOV for videos. Once you've reached this 10,000 mark milestone in your iPhone photography career, the Mobile Photos app no longer displays additional media files. Luckily, however, the photos are still there--they simply don't display on the phone.

Some users found help using the Phoneview utility from Ecamm on their Macs--the free demo version worked long enough to uncover the missing photos. PC users may be able to find their shots via iPhone Browser.… Read more

Simple Project Management Tool provides users with a very basic calendar and reminder system. While most users will be able to quickly master it, the program is not without its flaws.

The program's interface is incredibly simple, even though its Help file fails to assist in the learning process and doesn't specifically focus on this program. Luckily, users will be able to quickly master these simple commands and calendars. Organizing your projects lived up to its billing as simple, thanks to its tight focus. Users click on the button to create a new project and assign it start … Read more

A rash of Wi-Fi connectivity and signal strength complaints have cropped up after Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 software update. Some users complain that their iPhones and iPod Touches drop from Wi-Fi unexpectedly; others that they can't connect to the Internet at all. Some users have been able to resolve connectivity problems by resetting their network connections (via Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings), but this simple fix hasn't worked for everyone. In some cases, not even a total system restore fixes the problem.

Apple has finally acknowledged the problem in a technical service … Read more

Registered users of Mark/Space's The Missing Sync for iPhone, a popular phone-syncing utility, received the following e-mail today regarding incompatibility issues with iPhone OS 3.0.

According to the e-mail, the software currently does not support the syncing of any new notes, text messages, or call history, because none of these can be imported into SMS Log, Call Log, or Mark/Space Notebook.

Mark/Space is working on a compatibility update that will be available free of charge by the end of June. A beta version will be available for testing some time on June 17 and available … Read more