Iphone Updates

The largest library in the world, the Library of Congress has “millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts in its collection.” And now you can enjoy part of that vast collection on iTunes U. Watch early films from Thomas Edison and Westinghouse. Hear the oral histories of African Americans who served as slaves. Enjoy lectures from researchers exploring the links between music and the brain.

For archaeologist Julie Schablitsky, the MacBook is a perfect storytelling tool. “The Mac is what I put my experiences and interpretations into,” she says. “It receives all of my thoughts, all of the stories that are given to me by the artifacts. I use it to turn those stories into visual representations that I can show people, the public, and academic colleagues. You can help people time travel with the Mac.”

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch

But not the right place, and that’s the problem. Apple support boards are seeing increasing message traffic about icons that vanish, or attach themselves to the wrong app. This seems a problem with iPhone 3.0. Older versions seem unaffected.

I saw this myself yesterday. My AT&T Navigator app which I am testing for a forthcoming review, somehow acquired my Reuters News icon.

I deleted the AT&T app and re-downloaded it, but that didn’t help. I reset the phone and that didn’t help either. Finally I did a sync with all the apps turned off in the iPhone apps tab, then did another sync with my apps on. That restored the proper icon, but some of my apps acted like they had been downloaded for the first time and I had to set them up again.

This is clearly a real bug that Apple will have to address. There are some other solutions floating around on the Apple message boards, such as deleting the app, downloading it again, and restarting the phone. If you have the problem, I’d suggest you try the easiest solutions first.

Some other users are seeing icons turn white, while other app icons simply disappear. One developer said this was a common issue before the final release of the 3.0 software, and he was surprised to see it now.

Let us know if you’ve got this affliction and what you did to fix it, and be sure to let Apple know.

Thanks to Steve for the tip.

Gallery: Mixed up icons on iPhone OS 3.0

TUAWiPhone icons all over the place in version 3.0 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When inspiration struck, indie rock group The 88 used iPhone to record their new single Love is the Thing reports Jefferson Graham (usatoday.com). “The band recorded directly into the iPhone’s built-in microphone,” Graham explains, using FourTrack from the App Store. “‘The great thing about this is that anyone can do it,’” says keyboardist Adam Merrin. “‘You don¹t need expensive recording equipment or instruments.’”

If you’d like to try something both delicious and healthy this holiday weekend, think about serving your guests Barbecue Glazed Alaska Salmon with Tomatillo Salsa Verde. That’s just one of the many tempting meals you can find in Whole Foods Market Recipes, a new, free app available on the App Store. The app, which requires iPhone OS 3.0, provides ingredients, directions, a store locator, and other handy features.

If you purchase and register a qualifying FileMaker 10 product between July 1 and September 18, you can get a free copy of the FileMaker Graphics Pack. The pack contains more than a 1,000 graphics you can use to give the databases you create using FileMaker 10 a polished, professional look. For more details, and to see sample images, visit the FileMaker site.

Filed under: Hardware, Cult of Mac, Mac mini

While the iPhone, iPod and laptops get most of the glory, the Mac mini chugs quietly along, doing its job well and making owners happy. Earlier at my day job, I was working with one of our minis and recognized how I rely on it to perform a critical function without the slightest hesitation. In other words, it’s time to give the little guy some recognition.

When I’m not blogging for you folks, I’m managing the web presence and other tech goodies of a large museum here in balmy Massachusetts. When customers arrive in our lobby, they can view a slide show of what’s new via a gorgeous HDTV hung above the ticket counter. Behind the HDTV is a Mac mini running Keynote. Once a week, the art department sends an updated Keynote presentation to the mini via Dropbox. This simple and reliable system is powered by an Intel-based mini.

Here’s the best part. Before our guests move on to the exhibits, they view a brief orientation film and slide show that displays sponsor information. Thousands of people watch both the orientation movie and slideshow every week. Behind it all is a G4 Mac mini (pictured on the right*).

This machine has been absolutely rock solid. Again, the art department uploads new slide shows to it via Dropbox and the whole operation couldn’t be simpler. When I look at the Laptop Hunter ads, and I see Lauren squealing over her Dell, I think, “Would I trust that machine to do what this mini does when it’s 4 or 5 years old? Heck, no.” The G4 in question is stock from the factory. Plus, if its HD croaks tomorrow, the only critical bit of data — the slide show and movie — lives on Dropbox so we’re covered. In a pinch, we’ve got a Mac Pro that could take on the workload in under 10 minutes.

In a world where the new and shiny gets most of the attention, the plain and reliable is often overlooked. So here’s a post to praise the Mac mini. The tiny, go-anywhere, do-anything, ultra-reliable computer that I absolutely love. No wonder there are racks full of them at Macminicolo and other facilities.

Now I’m certain there are others out there with dutiful minis. Home servers, media centers, carputers, etc. If that’s you, send a snapshot to Flickr and tag it TUAWmini. We’ll post some of our favorites this weekend.

*No, it doesn’t live on the floor. I moved it to compose the shot. Rest assured that it was returned to its cozy shelf immediately after.

TUAWThe mighty mini originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do you use your iPhone incessantly? Do you boast about the latest cool app you’ve downloaded (there’s an app for just about everything, as the increasingly annoying Apple TV ads tell us) Do you find your friends slinking away when you approach them, excitedly clutching your phone? If so, then you’re probably an iBore…

Fans of simple, traditional games will be pleased to know that Astraware continues to release old favourites to the iPhone platform. Following the success of its Board Games and Sudoku comes Solitaire, and it’s available for a limited time for just 99c / 59p. Now, Solitaire has to be one of the most crowded niches on the App Store (or indeed, any platform). I counted well over 100 variants, so Astraware is certainly up against it…

Skype arrived on the iPhone back in March, after a long wait, and was generally warmly greeted. However, there were still some things that you couldn’t do, and not all of them were a result of the networks crippling innovation. A few months on and the first major update to Skype has made it into the App Store. Now it’s possible to listen to your voicemail messages from the mobile version, and also to send SMS text messages to contacts around the world…

In February, ITN launched its first iPhone application allowing users to watch videos and keep up with the latest news headlines. ITN On has now launched the free ITN Showbiz app which, as the name suggests, offers the latest video news from the world of celebrities, music and film…

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Humor, Odds and ends, iPhone

Did you know that after it is broken down into all of its composite metals and materials and parts, your human body is really only worth about $4.50? Yup, you’re cheap in the broadest sense — all of that oxygen, magnesium, iron, and sodium isn’t actually worth all that much in the rare metals market. In fact, according to iSuppli, you’re worth way less than the iPhone 3GS — they looked at the component parts for Apple’s new handset, and calculated its raw value at around $178.96. The most expensive components are the 16gb flash memory (ringing in at around $25 per part) and the display (at $19), all the way down to the audio codec board, which Apple reportedly picked up for a cheap $1.15. Of course, there was lots more cheaper stuff (we assume the screws weren’t a buck each), but iSuppli didn’t actually go that granular. That also doesn’t include any of the non-hardware costs: shipping fees, R&D, distribution, marketing, and so on. But it’s way more than you’re worth, and it’s $40 more than the Palm Pre costs to make, too.

Lest you start worrying that your spouse will start valuing their iPhone more than your body, however, there is a silver lining. If you break down to the mineral components of the human body, we’re cheap, but the actual components of the body are pretty expensive, it turns out. Expensive to the tune of $45 million, if you count up all the money you could pick up from taking out your bone marrow, extracting your DNA, and selling off a lung or two. Just like the iPhone’s parts, when assembled, are worth more than iSuppli’s $179, you too pick up some value when assembled the right way.

[via Engadget]

TUAWiSuppli estimates the iPhone 3GS costs $179 to make originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever forget your hotel room number? Then Steve Casimiro (adventure.nationalgeographic.com) wants to tell you about Room. It’s one of the iPhone travel apps Casimiro has come to rely on as he roams the world for National Geographic Adventure magazine. He’s also found apps that help him pack a better suitcase, phone home for less, find Wi-Fi hot spots, and lots more. Is your favorite travel app among his picks?

Filed under: Accessories, iPhone, iPod touch

Do you have Pre-envy due to the Touchstone and wireless charging capabilities? Well, good news then. A company called WildCharge has stepped in to give you similar charging capabilities with your original iPhone or iPod touch. The bundle is just shy of $80 and includes the charging pad and a gel skin that needs to be attached to your phone. Once installed, just lay your phone on the pad and get your charge on.

The skin unfortunately adds an unsightly hump at the base where the dock connector is, but that may be a small price to pay if you really need your iPhone charged sans wires.

The iPod touch version is available now with the iPhone version coming next month.

TUAWCharge your iPhone wirelessly originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Its “fetching high-resolution screen and its portability make this an attractive notebook for professional designers,” reports Jonathan Rougeot (computershopper.com) of the new 17-inch MacBook Pro. In addition, Rougeot concludes, the new model’s “sleek design, impressive battery life, and reduced price will make this attractive even to less-demanding users who want a stylish laptop with a bit of muscle.”

Filed under: WWDC, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

iTreadmill (App Store link) is a pedometer app for your iPhone or iPod touch. I spoke with the developer, who demoed the app for us at WWDC. It looks nice, appears to perform well, and features a respectable number of ways to customize and tune the readings. Pedometer apps may not save the world, but if you’re looking for something much less expensive than the Nike+iPod device, this will do in a pinch. There’s also a Lite version (App Store link) if you want to try it yourself.

TUAWWWDC Demo: iTreadmill originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cool tools, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, iPhone

A Miami television station aired a story completely shot on an iPhone, as they covered the launch of the iPhone 3GS. The video looks pretty good, and once it was shot it was uploaded to Final Cut Pro for editing. Although you can trim the beginning and end of clips on the iPhone itself, you really can’t edit.

The story aired on WFOR’s 5PM News. The reporter, Gio Benitez, also used the iPhone Voice Memo app to record his narration, so the piece really was a true iPhone production.

Here’s a link to the WFOR web page and that contains a link to the video as it aired on the news. If you want to go directly to the video it is here.

Of course there is nothing new about video on a cell phone. It’s been around for quite a few years, but with a faster processor giving the user a nominal 30 frames per second, decent video is now a reality.

Don’t confuse the video from the iPhone with what a good consumer camera can do, and my Flip minoHD cam looks a bit better, but for capturing something on the fly, it’s a nice thing to have.

One other note. If you upload the video to MobileMe or YouTube the phone will compress the video before you upload and it won’t look nearly as nice when you get it right off the phone before that compression step.

Thanks to John in Indianpolis for the tip.

TUAWiPhone video on the air originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

The company that iPhone users either love or hate has just surprised everyone with a turn by turn navigation solution now available at the app store. While app is free, to use it you’ll have to pay AT&T US$9.99 a month, which is charged to your monthly bill.

AT&T Navigator [App Store] is part of a partnership with TeleNav, and it gives voice directions, along with automatic rerouting and real time traffic updates.

The app will find the lowest gas prices along the way, but it doesn’t integrate with your address book for entering destinations. You can enter destinations from a PC or Mac, and sync them to your iPhone.

The maps are not on your phone, so if you lose data reception, good bye navigation.

The app requires an iPhone running OS 3.0. AT&T offers this service on some of their other smartphones, so I guess it wasn’t a surprise to see it on Apple devices. This will be good for competition, as we await the announced product from TomTom and others who are keen to profit from the demand for navigation services.

If any of our readers try this app, we’d be interested in your thoughts.

TUAWTurn by Turn navigation in the App Store — from AT&T originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate

Do you remember the teaser ads for the iPhone 3G? Two uniformed guards carried a locked metal crate through a labyrinth of secure tunnels, keycard points at every door, and monitored by security cameras? Turns out the real Apple isn’t too far from that, according to Brad Stone and Ashlee Vance at the New York Times.

They cite former employees and analysts who all agree that Apple, as Gene Munster put it, “a total black box.” Apple, in an effort to guard their company’s secrets until the day they’re launched have instituted a culture of fear among employees: Loose lips sink ships.

Apple’s campus is, according to the article, “a maze of security doors” where employees must swipe their badges and enter codes on numeric keypads — presumably not only to restrict access, but to serve as a record of who was where if any information does leak out. Many work areas are monitored by closed-circuit TV. According to one unnamed employee, “workers in the most critical product-testing rooms must cover up devices with black cloaks when they are working on them, and turn on a red warning light when devices are unmasked so that everyone knows to be extra-careful.”

I’ve worked in high-security areas before for the U.S. military, and the big difference between the military and Apple is fear. Lots of fear. A secure military workspace is comfortable, but formal: If you catch a glimpse of something you shouldn’t, it’s not a big deal, just forget what you saw. Apple employees on the other hand, according to the article, are petrified of losing their job, being sued, or both.

In Apple’s quiver is another piercing arrow: Misinformation. Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster relates a story of how a high-ranking Apple executive lied to his face about having “no interest in developing a cheap iPod with no screen.” Cut to a few weeks later, and Apple releases the iPod shuffle. Lying business executives are nothing new, and shouldn’t be surprising in the least. But while many companies cultivate productive relationships with the media, Apple’s is mostly antagonistic. “They don’t communicate,” Munster said.

Why bother? The thrill. Sure, they’re protecting their intellectual property, but it’s all about the thrill. They can create these spectacles where they literally unveil a new product in front of a salivating audience — including Apple employees — who have never seen anything like it before. It’s thrilling. Apple’s business hinges on creating products that excite and creating that excitement surrounding them.

They’ve found a secret formula that works. In the words of Steve Jobs, “there is no theory of protecting content other than keeping secrets.”

“The problem, of course, is that there are many smart people in the world, some with a lot of time on their hands, who love to discover such secrets.”

TUAWApple: Paranoid originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone

Just when you think you’re in the groove for the new iPhone 3G S, Apple goes and starts changing the game. The 3G S is, figuratively speaking, no more. Apple has quietly been changing all references on it site from 3G S to 3GS. The space between the G and the S has been removed.

TidBITS broke the story in a piece aptly titled “Ding, Dong, the iPhone 3GS Space Is Dead“. (We too did note the change in a story yesterday.) TUAW reader and personal tech review colleague Joachim Bean found the pair of images you see here. To the right is a cached image from June 15th. To the left is a shot from yesterday, June 22nd. Notice anything? Yes, it’s been spacicided.

So will we miss the space? It was, as Engst points out, an awkward construction. But after forcing ourselves into the space habit, it may be a hard one to break.

So let’s have a moment of silence for the 3G S space. It is dead, not stunned, and not pining for the fjords. Despite its brief moment in the pop culture sun, the 3G S space has expired and gone to meet its maker. Bereft of life, the space rests in peace. And if we at TUAW may occasionally nail it back into place by accident, be assured that it will be reinterred and pushing up daisies ASAP.

TUAWSpaced: How Apple gives blog writers apoplexy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How do the batteries in the new MacBook Pro laptops measure up? Walt Mossberg (ptech.allthingsd.com) wanted to know, so “using my own harsh battery test,” he assessed the performance of new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models. “The results,” he reports, ”were excellent. These two new Apple laptops scored among the highest battery lives between charges of any laptop I have ever tested.”

Love Jazz? So does Don Wolff, who brings us the “I Love Jazz!” program on Higher Education Channel Television. HEC-TV, “the leading producer of education, arts, and cultural” TV programming in St. Louis, produces award-winning programming that “makes you think.” And, in the case of “I Love Jazz!” encourages a greater appreciation of a uniquely American art form.

You receive a Word document from a friend. And while you have Office for Mac on your MacBook, you’d rather open that document in Pages. Thanks to Mac OS X Leopard, you have a number of ways — right-clicking on the document, Get Info, and others — to temporarily change the application used to open it. But what if you always want Pages to open Word documents? Find out how in today’s tip.

The crime drama Public Enemies, which opens in theaters on July 3, pits the FBI’s Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) against the most notorious criminals of the Depression era: John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum), and Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham). Based on a book by Bryan Burrough, Public Enemies, was produced and directed by Michael Mann (The Aviator, Hancock). Enjoy.

Filed under: iPhone, MobileMe

We’re not 100% convinced of the safety of his approach, but Kevin Miller’s determination to recover his lost iPhone — combined with the power of MobileMe’s new Find My iPhone feature — led him on a wild chase across Chicago, which he visited while he was attending a LEGO convention in nearby Wheeling, IL.

After leaving his phone in a bar, Kevin tried to get FMI working (via a friend’s laptop & broadband adapter, ironically from Sprint; as Megan & Michael pointed out, you can’t access the MobileMe page from the iPhone browser anyway) with no luck. The next morning, however, the phone began responding and Kevin’s three-man team began the hunt. With laptop in hand and a succession of more and more specific location details, the guys began tracking down the errant phone.

We won’t spoil the end of the story for you; Kevin’s post is quite entertaining and worth a read. Still, once you do know how the plot turns out you may want to consider enlisting the police for a missing phone, rather than choosing to use their methods.

TUAWFind My iPhone location tracking enables all-city chase originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Podcasts, iPhone, iPod touch

It’s on the master list of 3.0 features, but we’ve been sent enough tips and suggestions about it to conclude that the advanced podcast/audiobook controls came as a pleasant surprise for lots of iPhone and iPod touch owners who upgraded.

In the 3.0 version, from the playback display for a podcast, tapping the screen brings up a set of expert controls: a button to email a link to the podcast’s page on iTunes; a 30-second “What’s that, now?” instant rewind button; and a playback speed control to give you 1/2 speed, normal or 2x “FedEx mode” playback.

The scrubber bar itself has been given a charge, even though it doesn’t look any different until you tap it; it displays the relative playback position within the episode being played. Dragging horizontally gives you high-speed scrubbing (previously known as “just plain old scrubbing”), but if you keep your finger on the screen and drag down, your scrub rate lowers step by step through half-speed, quarter-speed and ‘fine scrubbing.’ This detail control makes it a lot easier to cue up a particular spot in a long show or book chapter.

I’ve started to enjoy listening to some of my longer subscriptions in 2x mode, especially when I have a fixed amount of time to listen to the podcast but I still want to cover as much of it as I can. Even shorter news-centric podcasts can sometimes benefit from a speed boost. If any of you try out the 2x mode on an audiobook, do let us know how it works for you.

Surprisingly, I find myself using the ‘email this’ button quite a lot, especially to let friends and family know about some of my favorite shows. I imagine they’ll be getting tired of that pretty soon.

TUAWInside iPhone 3.0: Enhanced controls for podcast & audiobook playback originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“With its lower price, the return of FireWire (woo-hoo!), longer battery life, better looking display and a new built-in SD Card slot that you can boot from, the newest member of the MacBook Pro makes an impressive debut,” concludes James Galbraith (macworld.com) in his 4.5-mouse (out of 5) review of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro.

It was already a great app. And, now, it’s even better. Taking advantage of new features enabled by iPhone OS 3.0, At Bat 2009 now offers live streaming of up to two major league baseball games a day. That’s right, you can watch two live baseball games a day on your iPhone or iPod touch — at no extra cost. And that’s in addition to Gameday Audio, MLB.com Gameday, and other great features from MLB.com.

Tradewinds 2, the popular PC strategy game from Sandlot Games, has landed on the iPhone and is available now from the App Store. This Caribbean-set trading game allows you to navigate a fascinating new world, discovering uncharted ports teeming with friends and foes. Be a master commander, defeating pirates and plundering their vast hordes of booty, or, play it safe by trading exotic island goods, gradually amassing untold wealth, power and influence…

Filed under: Video, Developer, iPhone, App Store

We had a quick chat with Dr. Wm. Cameron Powell of Airstrip Technologies at the 5th Avenue Apple Store this morning, talking about his company’s data visualization and monitoring tools for hospital use. Airstrip’s FDA-approved application for OB monitoring is already on the App Store in demo form, and is being rolled out in sites around the country; the company was featured in the WWDC developer showcase video, which has really ramped up the volume of calls and emails that Powell and his team are getting from large medical systems integrators.

Airstrip’s forthcoming Critical Care product is in the final stages of testing before rollout; the company also has cardiology, imaging and lab test versions coming soon.

TUAWiPhone 3G S Launch Day: Interview with Airstrip’s Cameron Powell originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sennheiser has announced a new line of “HD” closed headphones which are supposedly optimised for iPod, iPhone and other portable device use and are distinctly affordable. The complete range of compact, lightweight and foldable HDs feature powerful neodymium magnets and ultra-light diaphragms and adjustable, comfortable ear cups.

Much as we expected after the iPhone’s software upgrade, TomTom has come up with its own satellite navigation hardware/software combo for the handset. As the iPhone’s GPS receiver is not quite as strong as those found in dedicated satnav units, TomTom sells a special hardware dock which includes a GPS booster and holds the iPhone secure. Software is based on TomTom’s award-winning turn-by-turn navigation system and includes IQ Routes and the latest maps from Tele Atlas…

Filed under: Cult of Mac, Apple, iPhone

Of course, like many people, I just had to have a 3G S, so my old 3G phone is off to NextWorth. I got to my local Apple Store (La Encantata Mall) about 6:30 AM, and there were about 30-35 people in line. There were 2 lines actually, one for people who reserved an iPhone, and one for those that had just come to buy. The lines were certainly shorter than with the 3G roll out. This mall is not enclosed, but the iPhone gods smiled upon us and gave us a cool morning in the 70’s. Not our usual Arizona broil.

Line dynamics are interesting. iPhone owners were telling the newbies how much they’ll love their new purchase. Experienced iPhone owners were trading tips with less experienced users, and I even saw one guy checking TUAW for the latest news. Nice.

One thing I noticed was that a lot of the people in line had BlackBerry or other brands of cell phones. My recollection of the last upgrade was that most people getting the 3G were replacing generation 1 phones. That’s anecdotal, but that’s what I saw.

One guy in line told me he worked at a hospital and that he wasn’t allowed to get an iPhone until it had remote wipe. Now, his IT guys have blessed the purchase.

Read on…

Continue reading Buying a new iPhone, Tucson style

TUAWBuying a new iPhone, Tucson style originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In his 4.5 (out of 5) mouse review, Jason Snell (macworld.com) points out that the iPhone 3GS offers “a major step forward in terms of the iPhone’s technological underpinnings,” one that results in “indisputably faster device, not just at some tasks, but at every task.” And in detailing the many new features it introduces, Snell concludes that iPhone 3GS “is still leading the pack, in most cases by a wide margin.”

“Video recording? Voice dialing? Better battery life? Zippier performance? Multimedia messaging? Check on all of them,” says Ryan Kim (sfgate.com) in his review of the new iPhone 3GS. From its built-in video editing to its digital compass, support for Voice Commands, increased RAM, and greatly increased speed, Kim explains how iPhone 3GS “cements Apple’s place at the top” of the smartphone market.

Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Freeware, iPhone, App Store

Shazam is an app that’s been on my iPhone since the beginning, and in fact, everyone should have it. Besides the fact that it’s free, it’s useful in a very innovative way: if you hear a song anywhere that you don’t know the artist or name of, just pull up the app to hear it, and it’ll tell you what you’re listening to. I still use it occasionally to find new music that I hear and like out in the world, but I never really paid attention to updates — they usually just got included in my monthly or so “download all updates” click. Apparently Shazam’s been updating something fierce, however, and the newest version has all kinds of functionality that you might not expect.

At some point, they added in Twitter integration, so if there’s a tune you want to share that way, you can do so. There’s always been a way to share them via email, too, and they’ve spruced that up a bit by calling it a “postcard” (conveniently also giving your friends a chance to buy the music you hear, and probably put some change in Shazam Entertainment Ltd.’s pocket — it is a free app, after all). But the most interesting new feature is that Shazam now tracks your location when you “tag” a tune, so that eventually, you’ll be able to look at a map of where you found all this new music you like.

Sure, it wasn’t exactly a pressing feature, but it is cool to see your “musical journey,” and have that information about not only what you tagged but where you tagged it. Shazam is an app that’s probably on your iPhone already, but it’s worth another look.

TUAWShazam updated to 1.7, adds location awareness originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Mac 101

One of the things that confused me the most when I switched to the Mac platform was the fact that there’s no built-in way to lock the computer manually with a hotkey when walking away from it. This is something that was drilled into me from working in an office full of pranksters where leaving your computer unlocked was virtually a guarantee that you would be hosting a party for all of your co-workers that coming weekend.

It turns out that this is an oversight in Mac OS X, and a 3rd party utility is required to be able to lock your computer with a hotkey. For a simple solution I would suggest installing a very basic preferences pane called LockTight.

LockTight does exactly what you’re looking for: assign a specific hotkey that when pressed will lock your Mac, requiring a password to unlock it if you have it configured to require a password to wake from sleep or screen saver (which you should).

Update: Reader Chad reminds us that if you actually want your machine to go to sleep with a keystroke (as opposed to simply locking the screen) you can use the Option-Cmd-Eject key combo.

[via Lifehacker]

TUAWMac 101: Locking your Mac with a hotkey, like you can with Windows originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In its first three days of availability, Apple sold more than a million iPhone 3GS models. The company also announced that six million customers downloaded iPhone OS 3.0 software in the five days since its release on June 17. “Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning,” said Steve Jobs. “With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

As we reported last night, it’s out, and the Howard Stern fans aren’t happy that this app eliminates the two channels Stern appears on.

There are still 120 channels that do work, so I thought I’d give it a try. The app is called Sirius XM Premium Online [App Store] and it’s free but requires a paid subscription if you don’t already have one.

You log in (one time) with your user name and password. After a few seconds, you are authenticated and ready to explore the radio offerings.

The app allows you to browse by category, channels, or by favorites you provide. There is a shopping cart if you want to tag something for purchase at the iTunes store. (Ah, that’s why Apple liked this app.)

I found the performance of the player pretty good. On a WiFi network I was able to acquire a signal or switch channels in 3 seconds. On the 3G network with moderate signal strength, it took about 7 seconds. You can get a display that tells you what is playing, or just see a list of stations.

I found the interface slow to respond at times. I often had to tap a few times to change stations. Audio quality was not ultra high fidelity, but about what you’d expect from streaming radio. I listened on Sennheiser headphones.

Howard Stern fans are very upset about not having their hero on this app. Sirius certainly could have told customers well in advance that he wouldn’t be available and saved some of this pain. They handled the merger of XM with Sirius the same way. XM customers didn’t know what was happening until the morning it happened. For a struggling company, it seems suicidal to constantly mislead and disappoint paying customers.

I asked Patrick Reilly, Senior VP of Communications for Sirius what happened to Stern. His response: “We aren’t commenting beyond what was in the press release: Some select programming, including MLB Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, and Howard Stern, will not be available on the iPhone and iPod touch. Listeners will continue to be able to access that programming through the platforms they are currently offered on.”

Not a very satisfying answer. There may be very good contractual reasons why Stern and the other channels aren’t offered, and Sirius XM customers deserve a better explanation. It doesn’t look like one is forthcoming.

At any rate, the app works, and works well for the channels that it does have. You’ll have to decide if it is worth the money versus free music apps like Pandora, Last.fm, AOL Radio and others. By the way, Dave Thomas of the Cars.com blog alerts us to their comparison of alternatives to the Sirius XM app.

TUAWReview: Sirius XM for iPhone/iPod touch sans Stern originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone, MobileMe

Mel gave you the instructions for how to set it up… but dear reader, we’re going to go in-depth into the features of using MobileMe’s Find My iPhone to see how well it works in locating and securing your phone from a remote location — including performing a voluntary wipe.

Locating where your phone is via map
When you bring up the Find My iPhone page in MobileMe, the first thing you will see is a map giving the approximate location of your phone. As indicated above, my phone is somewhere inside of my apartment. Because the map is powered by Google, you can toggle it among plain map, satellite, and hybrid views of the location. However, the feature won’t give off an exact address. So, if you happened to leave your phone inside of a shopping center complex, you’ll still have to visit each store to track down the phone.

Read on for more into Find My iPhone’s features …

Continue reading Find My iPhone: If only I could find myself so easily …

TUAWFind My iPhone: If only I could find myself so easily … originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone, App Store

You’ll probably see these as soon as you try to update an app or make a new purchase (along with a “This content may not be appropriate for children under 17″ warning for some apps). We haven’t gone through all the new terms with a fine-tooth comb yet, but it is important to note the following:

items purchased IN an app (like new levels, dresses for virtual dogs, map packs, etc.) may not transfer among devices; our developer friends tell us they are absolutely supposed to transfer, but the effort to make that work is on the individual developer and Apple is simply doing a CYA here in the terms. If you have 2 iPhones with the same iTunes account, you can have the same app on both devices — but you won’t be able to reuse anything purchased in one instance of the app onto the other iPhone, nor are you guaranteed to be able to get all your In App content back if you replace your iPhone.

Also, note that “The Application Provider is solely responsible for In App Purchases.” So if Stinky the chihuahua’s sweater never makes it into your device, you’ll need to hit up the guys who wrote the app for some refund or re-download or… something. It’s not 100% clear on how all that will work, since we have yet to get our grubby, unwashed masses’ mitts on the system, but Apple is reportedly leaning hard on developers to make sure In App purchasing works as advertised — while making sure we all acknowledge who’s responsible if something goes awry.

If you notice other changes in the T&C, leave ‘em in the comments.

TUAWNew terms and conditions for iTunes Store now online originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Enterprise, Software, Productivity, Xserve

We seem to be mentioning both Parallels and Kerio pretty frequently, and they keep coming up with cool stuff. Kerio announced today that it will be offering its mail and collaboration platform, Kerio Mailserver, as a Virtual Appliance for Parallels on the Mac, news that will be of interest to a lot of folks looking for an even easier way to get away from Exchange.

The Virtual Appliance comes with a preconfigured version of CentOS 5.3 Linux, optimized for Kerio Mailserver. It looks like an ideal solution for businesses that need to run more than one OS, allowing hardware to be shared and making efficient use of server power.

I’m guessing you’d want an XServe or high-end Mac Pro if you’re planning to deploy multiple Virtual Appliances, but I would think that the KMS Virtual Appliance should run on any Intel Mac which can do a decent job of running Parallels to begin with. If you missed it, check out the WWDC video of a tricked-out Mac Pro running Leopard and two installs of Vista with Parallels.

The Kerio Mailserver Virtual Appliance comes ready-to-run (if you have Parallels Desktop or Server) as a 30-day trial. Pricing starts at $499US for ten users, with an option to add integrated McAfee Anti-Virus for an extra $100US ($599).

TUAWKerio teams up with Parallels originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The mobile phone company O2 in United Kingdom is not treating its best customers, the iPhone 3G already owners like it should. The cut the story short, if you want an iPhone 3GS, it’s around £440!!!

If somebody from O2 is reading this, believe me, you will have a lot of angry customers who took the iPhone 3G 1 year ago for free after an upgrade from the iPhone 2G, and usually with an 18 months contract. So for existing O2 clients, it costs a fortune to get the beloved mobile device.

Tags:440 iphone iphone 3gs nightmare O2440, iphone, iphone 3gs, nightmare, O2

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With iPhone OS 3.0 installed on your iPhone or iPod touch, you can now download any of the 150,000 free educational programs available on iTunes U over either cellular or Wi-Fi networks. Then, wherever you are, you can enjoy such programs as the “Asteroid Hunters,” “A Night in the Coral Reef,” “Piano Puzzler,” and others. To find out how easily you can learn on the go with iPhone and iTunes U, watch the short video primer on our Education site.

More than 65 million years ago, a huge asteroid plummeted to Earth, destroying nearly all life on the planet. Astronomers now know that large asteroids collide with the Earth every 500 years or so. They’ve even identified one that’s likely to come close to Earth on April 13, 2029, and may return to hit us 7 years later. What can we do to prevent this calamity? Watch Asteroid Hunters on iTunes U and find out.

Richard Corliss (time.com) called it “a near-perfect movie about men in war” when he reviewed The Hurt Locker at its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. The film, which tells a riveting tale about the men who disarm roadside bombs in Iraq, boasts an excellent cast, including Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Guy Pearce. It opens in select theaters next Friday.

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

In what may be one of the great anti-climax stories of all time, it looks like Sirius/XM is finally releasing an iPhone/iPod touch app this week, probably on the 18th.

Subscribers who asked about the app are getting the following email… apparently Sirius support team members are paid! by the exclamation point!

Thank you for contacting SIRIUS regarding whether or not there is a SIRIUS iPhone application available. We are here to help! We appreciate the time you have taken to contact us in regards to this matter! We are happy to inform you that beginning June 18th a SIRIUS Internet Radio application will be available at the Apple iTunes App-Store for the iPhone and the iPod Touch! All Premium SIRIUS Internet Radio subscribers will be able to download the application from the Apple iTunes App-Store for free on their device and access the service at no additional cost! Subscribers who are listening to the Basic Online Service for free must first upgrade to the Premium Online Service for $2.99 per month to access the application on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

It’s been a long and tortured road getting here. Competing players were stopped dead by Apple, and the Sirius player has been talked about ever since the iPhone came out. A couple of weeks ago we reported the app would appear ‘real soon’ and now it looks like this is the week.

No word as yet on how many channels will play on the app, but this is a highly anticipated release. We hope it’s fully compatible with iPhone 3.0.

TUAWAre you really Sirius? Streaming radio iPhone app expected this week originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“The new phone,“ reports Steven Levy (wired.com, “introduces a long list of improvements, big and small,” that “keep iPhone 3G S at the front of the mobile race.” Levy notes that “Apple has indeed ramped up the speed with which the new phone performs tasks like launching apps, loading web pages, and displaying graphics.“ And he takes us through many of the new features and improvements in iPhone 3G S.

“Once you start using it,” Jason Chen (gizmodo.com) reports, “the speed of the iPhone 3G S will amaze you.” He notes that “Safari, Email, Camera all load noticeably faster than on the iPhone 3G.” In fact, “even “booting the phone takes about half the time.” And “apps with long load times, like Sims 3, Oregon Trail or Metal Gear Touch all show how much faster you get up and running on the new” iPhone 3G S.