Iphone Updates

“I prefer Final Cut,” explains Alan Bell, who edited the new film, (500) Days of Summer, “because it offers me an open and easy way to move media and elements in and out of the system, while handling multiple file types and sizes in the same timeline. So it just works better and faster than any other editing solution out there.” Read the full interview with Bell and the film’s director, Marc Webb, on the new Final Cut Studio site.

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Believe it or not, we’ve been watching television commercials for nearly 70 years. Some have made us laugh. Some have made us cry. A few have even encouraged us to go out and buy something. And many TV ads have entered popular culture, influencing us in ways unexpected by advertisers. Though you won’t see many of these ads on TV anytime soon, you can see them on iTunes U thanks to Duke University and its AdViews.

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Written, directed, and co-produced by Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up), Funny People stars Adam Sandler as George Simmons, a comedian who learns he has less than a year to live, and Seth Rogen as Ira Wright, a struggling stand-up comic that Simmons befriends. The film, which opens in theaters on July 31, also stars Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, and Jonah Hill. Enjoy.

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If you’re headed back to school soon, don’t forget to pack a copy of Shakespeare. On your iPhone. The free app brings you the full text of all forty plays, as well as the Bard’s poems and sonnets. Customize your reading experience by picking the font color and font size. Opt to scroll or tap your way down the page. You can even rotate iPhone or iPod touch and read Shakespeare in landscape mode.

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Apple today announced a significant update to Final Cut Studio, offering more than 100 new features and new versions of Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color, and Compressor. Final Cut Pro 7 expands Apple’s ProRes codec family to support virtually any workflow and includes Easy Export for one step output to a variety of formats. At $999, the new Final Cut Studio is $300 less than the previous release and is also available as an upgrade for just $299.

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The new version of Logic Studio introduced today offers major upgrades to Logic Pro and Mainstage and more than 200 new features that simplify tasks. “The new Logic Studio is ideal for professional musicians, live performers and GarageBand enthusiasts who want to take their music to the next level,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. Available today, Logic Studio sells for $499. Current Logic Studio and Logic Pro users can upgrade for $199.

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“We’re extremely pleased to report record non-holiday quarter revenue and earnings and quarterly cash flow from operations of $2.3 billion,” said Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer. For its third fiscal quarter, Apple posted revenue of $8.34 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.35 per diluted share. Apple sold 2.6 million Macintosh computers, 10.2 million iPods, and 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter.

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If you use an application all the time, there’s no need to navigate to the Applications folder whenever you want to use it. Mac OS X Leopard lets you keep frequently used applications in the Dock, where you can launch them with a mouse click. And in today’s Quick Tip, you’ll find out how easy it is to add aliases of your favorite applications to the Dock. Take a look.

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Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Video, Odds and ends, iPhone

Dave Caolo tempted TUAW readers in early July with news about Zacuto’s ZGrip iPhone Pro, a handy (no pun intended) articulated grip for taking steadier video with the iPhone 3GS. While the US$295 price tag was a bit out of the realm of possibility for all but well-heeled iPhone geeks, there was a tantalizing bit of news at the end of the post stating that a “low-cost consumer version” would soon be released.

That news was very accurate, as you’ll be able to buy the US$69 ZGrip iPhone Jr. starting this Saturday, August 15th. While it doesn’t offer all of the features of the Pro model such as the rotating grip head, it holds an iPhone 3GS securely in a set of fingers, has a handle grip to steady your hold on the device, features an accessory mount on top for a light, and even has a standard mount on the bottom of the handle for attaching your iPhone to a tripod. Check out the video in the 2nd half of the post for details and a look at an early production model of the ZGrip iPhone Jr.

If you pre-order the ZGrip iPhone Jr. before Saturday, you can take another US$10 off of the purchase price. If you’re still not tempted to buy one, what’s your favorite way of keeping your iPhone 3GS steady while you’re shooting video? Leave a comment below.

Continue reading ZGrip iPhone Jr. available August 15th

TUAWZGrip iPhone Jr. available August 15th originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics:
IPhone – Apple – TUAW – AppStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Rumors, Software, Apple

Personally, I’m fine with waiting until September (just a month from now) to see Apple’s new Snow Leopard update — I’m having a pretty busy August already, so I’ll gladly wait on that bit of excitement. But that won’t stop the rumormongers from wanting to see it sooner: apparently quite a few folks are suggesting that since Snow Leopard has gone gold, the release date might get pushed right up into the current month of August. August 24th is in the mix right now, while Daring Fireball John Gruber (who often knows about these things) says August 28th.

Here’s my question though: why? Apple’s sitting as pretty as you can sit in this economy, and Snow Leopard is already a huge hit even before it leaves the gate (it’s coming before Windows 7, it’s easier to figure out, and it’s certainly a whole lot cheaper). So why would Apple do something so character-breaking as to start showing off by releasing software early? If there were bugs or problems with it, and they released it early, wouldn’t that come back around to hurt them even worse?

If you ask me, Apple isn’t going to push it — they said September, their schedule probably allows for September, and they won’t have any issues with waiting until September. They may release it early, but you’ll have to color me surprised: we’ll probably see it in September.

TUAWRumor: Snow Leopard let out of the cage early originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Snow Leopard – Apple – Daring Fireball – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Operating system

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Filed under: Hardware, Odds and ends, Apple, iPhone

It appears that China Unicom has been selected as the sole distributor of iPhones in China, according to a report in the International Business Times today. While the deal has yet to be finalized, the company has purchased 5 million WCDMA iPhones without Wi-Fi from Apple at a price of 10 billion yuan (US$1.46 billion).

China Unicom is to begin selling the 3G phones in September at company stalls in Carrefour stores, as well as at several large China Unicom retail outlets. The phones are expected to sell for 2,400 yuan (US$352 as of this writing) for an 8GB model and 4,800 yuan (US$704) for a 16GB iPhone. It’s estimated that Apple’s profit from each sale is about 1,100 yuan (US$161).

China Unicom faces stiff competition from black market iPhones, which are selling for as low as 400 yuan ($59). The International Business Times report notes that Apple made large concessions to China Unicom in order to enter the massive Chinese market. To give some scale to the size of this sale, Apple reported during the 3Q 2009 conference call with Wall Street analysts that they had sold a total of 5.2 million iPhones in the last quarter.

TUAWApple reportedly sells 5 million iPhones to China Unicom originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics:
ChinaUnicom – IPhone – China – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog

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Filed under: Enterprise, Software, Odds and ends, Other Events

With Microsoft Office for Mac still owning a hefty portion of the Mac software market, it’s always news when the Mac Business Unit decides to spill the beans on their product plans for the future.TUAW’s Michael Rose was on the press call this morning and noted the headlines, with details in the press release in the 2nd half of the post:

• Next month, Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac will be trimmed down to 2 editions: Home/Student and Business Edition. The new SKUs for Business Edition 2008 will be available next month. This makes more sense than the 3 editions currently available.
• The Office 2008 Business Edition includes Entourage Web Services Edition & Microsoft Document Connection
• Entourage Web Services Edition ships today (August 13, 2009)
• Office 2008 Business Edition has extra templates, clip art and bundled Lynda.com training lessons
• Upgrade costs for 2008 Business Edition $240, full licenses $340; Entourage Web Services update will be free for existing Office 2008 users
• One More Thing: The next Mac Office version will be ready by holiday season 2010, and includes a ‘brand new application’ — Microsoft Outlook for Mac (!)
• Outlook for Mac will be a Cocoa app, will sync tasks and notes, and has a new database supporting Spotlight searches; IRM for confidential data controls.
• There was no announcement from Microsoft on any Office for iPhone development to date
• Visual Basic returns in Office 2010

See the continuation of this post for the full press release from the Mac BU.

Continue reading Microsoft Mac Business Unit announces details of next version of Office for Mac

TUAWMicrosoft Mac Business Unit announces details of next version of Office for Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics:
MicrosoftOffice – iPhone – Microsoft – Apple – Office for Mac

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Filed under: Software, Odds and ends

In the mid-1980s I was first earning my stripes as a project manager, and I was fortunate enough to have Apple’s MacProject application to help me out. As Microsoft Project began to capture a larger share of the project management software market in the 1990s, Mac users weren’t left out in the cold thanks to AEC Software, which introduced a powerful cross-platform project scheduling and management application called FastTrack Schedule.

FastTrack Schedule 10 is scheduled for release this fall, and includes a redesigned, iWork-like interface to make using the application much less intimidating. Experienced PMs are going to love the new assignment contouring capability, and other new features such as resource usage graphing on the Gantt chart and an iMedia browser for dropping in photos or diagrams also add to the mix. The application still retains a high level of data compatibility with Microsoft Project.

When the new version ships, existing users of FastTrack Schedule 9 can upgrade for US$149, while new users can purchase FastTrack Schedule 10 for US$315 by pre-ordering (regular price is US$350). If you’re not familiar with the application, AEC Software also provides online training courses to bring you up to speed.

TUAWFastTrack Schedule 10 for Mac ships this fall from AEC Software originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics:
Apple – Project Management – FastTrack Schedule – MacProject – TUAW

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Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Electronic Arts has released the Wolfenstein RPG for the iPhone and iPod touch — the game is available on the App Store for $4.99 right now. It’s based in the world of Wolfenstein, but it’s not your normal first-person shooter. Instead, it’s actually a mobile turn-based RPG, adapted from an older cellphone platform for Apple’s handheld. Considering its origins, the game looks pretty good, and it’s got a silly sense of humor as well — you can read books to gain abilities and power-ups, or play a chicken-kicking minigame. Reviews are pretty excellent on iTunes, so if you’re looking for something a little different to play as a role-playing game, it might be worth a look.

Even more anticipated than this game is the Doom RPG, with the same type of gameplay, but set in id software’s Doom universe (notable, among other things, for its BFG weapon). Odds are that if this game does well, the Doom RPG (and maybe even Orcs and Elves, originally seen on the DS) probably won’t be far behind.

TUAWWolfenstein RPG out now on iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – AppStore – Apple – IPod Touch – Doom RPG

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Filed under: Desktops, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends

This could be the saddest thing I’ve seen all week (and I’ve watched a few Cubs games): a Florida school is declaring itself PC-only, and apparently was planning to toss almost 200 Macs in the trash to get new Windows computers for the kids and teachers. Hearing that kids will have to use Windows is sad enough, but tossing out working Macs, even if they’re old G3 models? Not cool at all. The teachers were apparently also told originally that they couldn’t buy them or give them away to kids either — it was the trash bin for these machines.

Cult of Mac also updates with pictures of the Macs, and we warn you, if all of those machines really are headed for the landfill, it’s a little scary to look at. Fortunately, the outcry has caused school officials to reconsider (or at least state their position more clearly), and it looks like what they’ll be doing is assessing the machines to see if they can be refurbished and then given away or sent off to a recycling center. The other problem apparently lies in the software — giving away the machines is no problem, but the school has to make sure all the software is cleaned off of the computers, as they don’t have licenses to distribute software that way. And as the school administrator says, the computers aren’t much good without an OS on them.

But surely we can save these guys. Apple, want to step in here and grant this school some licenses to keep these computers (208 in total, many of which are likely workable, even at “five to ten years old”) in the hands of people who can use them? It would be a shame if the school had to toss working computers because their hands were tied by OS X software licenses.

TUAWFlorida school may trash 200 Macs to go PC-only originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage

Over the past week, some T-Mobile iPhone customers noticed that their data service suddenly stopped working. Users with unlocked iPhones had been paying $1 a day for unlimited data and text messaging using the Sidekick data plan. It was a great value.

Customers who contacted T-Mobile support received mixed answers. Representatives stated that service was down in their area or that they needed to upgrade to their normal data plan.

Yesterday, T-Mobile sent a tweet on their official Twitter account that they would no longer service iPhone customers using the prepaid Sidekick plan. So just like AT&T cutting off prepaid GoPhone service to iPhone customers, T-Mobile has now eliminated an affordable data option for unlocked iPhones. At this time, it appears that Android-specific data plans remain unaffected.

TUAW has contacted T-Mobile for an official statement on the matter but we have not heard anything back yet.

Thanks Gabe for the tip!

TUAWT-Mobile stops offering prepaid Sidekick data service to unlocked iPhone users originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPhone – Apple – TUAW – Unofficial Apple Weblog – T-Mobile

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple

Over the weekend, The Mac Observer posted a detailed analysis of the latest chapter in the Psystar saga. It’s taken me a few days to come down from vacation and try to wrap my brain around the legalese, but here’s the condensed version of what happened.

Psystar was granted its motion to dismiss its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the State of Florida. The judge in the case must feel that Psystar will either try to file for Chapter 7 (liquidation) bankruptcy or try to delay Apple’s case in California against the clone maker (now scheduled to start on January 11, 2010) with another Chapter 11 filing. Why? The judge has stipulated that Psystar will not be granted an automatic stay in the case if they file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and has blocked Psystar against filing Chapter 11 again for another six months.

Translation: “Hey, Psystar! You can’t use bankruptcy to weasel out of Apple’s case against you.”

We don’t know if Psystar has been selling a lot of Mac clones or if there is a secret admirer with deep pockets lurking in the wings, but by removing Chapter 11 protection, creditors who are owed money can now file suit for financial relief. Those creditors include Psystar’s previous law firm, Carr & Farrell, which is owed about $88,000. One of the other companies that may line up for compensation could be Apple, which may very well be owed payment for shrink-wrapped copies of Mac OS X that were purchased by Psystar.

More legal moves will undoubtedly unfold in the months leading up to the January court date, so keep your browser pointed to Court TV TUAW for updates about this seemingly never-ending battle.

TUAWPsystar bankruptcy dismissed, stays against Apple blocked originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics:
Mac OS X – Apple – Psystar – Unofficial Apple Weblog – TUAW

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Filed under: Rumors, iTunes, Music

Boy Genius Report has posted maybe-real, maybe-not screenshots of the rumored iTunes 9, depicting its social networking features. The screenshots, which purportedly came from a Chinese forum and were discovered by a German blogger, depict last.fm playback and browsing features that were rumored earlier.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider is reporting that Apple will make a broader push into social media, instead of just providing iTunes integration, by releasing a separate “Social” application (it’s not yet clear if it’s for Mac, iPhone, or both), providing the ability to update statuses and post info on music from their iTunes library on social networking services. Also, they do further confirm earlier rumors of iPhone app organization within iTunes, allowing users to sort by name, by genre, by date added, or to set arbitrary positions.

TUAWMore rumored details of iTunes 9 emerge originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics:
iPhone – Apple – ITunes – AppleInsider – Last.fm

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British singer/songwriter Gary Go creates much of his musical accompaniment on his iPhone. His single, “Wonderful,” is available as a free download from iTunes. If you’re in New York, you can watch Go perform on his iPhone and Mac on Sunday, August 16 at the Apple Store SoHo. If you’re not, check out this video at keyboardmag.com.

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Filed under: App Store

The iTunes App Store has been more than a little embattled in the last couple of months, but at least one app developer is soldiering on: according to Engadget, the maker of Slingbox, Sling Media, has recently submitted SlingPlayer Mobile 1.1 to Apple for approval.

The most significant changes involve true 16:9 widescreen support that utilizes all 3.5 glorious inches of the iPhone or iPod touch screen, and a new browser for Dish Network users that has touch support and is native to iPhone OS, as opposed to pushing through the standard browsing screen used on TVs. There is no mention of other cable providers, so presumably they are not in on the scheme for now.

The browser announcement primarily concerns only U.S. customers, and is dwarfed by one concerning carriers that are not AT&T: the non-U.S. version of SlingPlayer Mobile 1.1 will support streaming video over a 3G connection (the current version requires a Wi-Fi connection).

Again, this is only what Slingbox has put out for approval, and the mighty mercurial temperament of Apple’s app approvers still stands in the way. These are changes that Sling Media needs to happen: as of this writing, SlingPlayer Mobile 1.0 (priced at $29.99 and requiring the purchase of a Slingbox unit) is struggling a bit with customer satisfaction, and has an equal number of five star and one star reviews. Ideally, the native browser and 3G support will cross borders in both directions, which will make the application very desirable. Here’s hoping Apple lets SlingPlayer take these steps.

TUAWSlingPlayer Mobile 1.1 to have 16:9 support, 3G streaming in non-U.S. markets originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics:
iPhone – appstore – Apple – Slingbox – IpodTouch

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Filed under: Multimedia, Software

Clipstart, a handy little Mac app for cataloging your small video clips and sending them to Flickr and Vimeo, has been out for a little while now. If you own an iPhone, Flip video camera or any device which has left you with an accumulation of video clips, it’s worth a look. It’s something like iTunes or iPhoto, but for video clips.

Clipstart can import your videos, tag and search them, and trim, convert and upload them to your preferred video service(s). Currently, Clipstart works with Flickr and Vimeo, but more services are planned, and the author, Manton Reece of Wii Transfer fame, is looking for feedback on which services are in highest demand. If Clipstart would be useful to you if only it worked with [insert video service], be sure to drop him a line.

While you’re trying out Clipstart, take a look under the help menu. You’ll find an option to enter the “iPhone Contest,” which is exactly what it sounds like: enter to win an iPhone (in the form of a $199US Apple iPhone Gift Card, which can also be used for other things), as well as 1-year Flickr Pro and Vimeo Plus accounts.

The contest ends on August 15th and all you need to do is enter an email address. So give Clipstart a shot (free demo available), and you might come out with a great new app and a new iPhone. Clipstart is $29US for a single user, but no purchase is necessary to win the contest.

TUAWTry out Clipstart, win an iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, Software, Freeware, Friday Favorite

Another Friday Favorite, our weekly opportunity to gush over one of our favorite apps.

This week’s favorite is a must-have reference for all Apple fans. Mactracker has been around for as long as I can remember and is indispensable. It provides exhaustive information on every Apple product, from the latest Xserve to the QuickTake 100.

The iTunes-like UI keeps machines in categories like desktops, notebooks, devices, etc. Click any to reveal a chronological listing of hardware, sorted by folder. Finally, select any piece of hardware (or software) to receive a tremendous amount of information. Processor, RAM, release date, benchmarks and on and on. You can even listen to the startup chime where applicable.

You can make smart folders and even keep track of the hardware you own. I love the built-in timeline, which lets you browse hardware by year of introduction. Best of all, as new hardware is added, Mactracker is updated.

This great piece of freewawre is availabe for the Mac and iPhone/iPod touch [App Store link]. For me, it’s indispensable.

TUAWFriday Favorite: Mactracker originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Features, Productivity, App Store, App Review

It’s official. The iPhone has come into its own in the legal world. It took a little time, and lawyers are notorious Luddites (you can pry the WordPerfect out of their cold, dead hands) but they do like Bright Shiny Objects, and nothing fills the lapel pocket like an iPhone.

The iPhone finally cracked the law-firm standards stranglehold by virtue of its compatibility with Microsoft Exchange, which freed lawyers from the non-choice of “would you like a Blackberry, or a Blackberry?” Granted, the Blackberry still seems to have a better handle on business needs, but for some, the iPhone is worth getting to know.

It should go without saying — I will say it, though — many of the productivity apps that are useful to everybody are useful to lawyers, so two of these apps are not strictly law-related. (See if you can spot them! It’s a brain teaser and a post!) Also, certain obvious apps don’t exist yet, such as a standalone LexisNexis or WestLaw legal research app. That said, the web will suffice for now. In fact, though I’ve artificially constrained myself to only standalone applications, the iPhone really shines for accessing web research sites given that Mobile Safari is (mostly) a full-featured browser.

So, without further ado, here are five apps that give a glimpse into what the iPhone can do for attorneys.

1) DataViz‘s DocumentsToGo. Nobody expects to write a brief or a memorandum from start to finish on an iPhone (though I am waiting for a good enough voice-recognition app so that getting a draft started is feasible), but any legal writing usually goes through more revisions than your average pre-1.0 beta software. Often this happens right as you were planning on leaving for the day.

DocumentsToGo allows you to edit and change documents, as well as email them over Exchange (requires $9.99US Exchange version) to other team members. Of course, iPhone OS 3.0′s cut/copy/paste was a prerequisite to making any word processing application workable, but now document editing has become at least moderately feasible. Nothing replaces your desk, covered in open books or a large monitor with LexisNexis or WestLaw opened to 18 different searches, but this gives you just a bit more flexibility and just may save you a panicky trip back to the office at 11:30pm on Saturday night.

Continue reading Five Apps for the lawyer

TUAWFive Apps for the lawyer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: OS, Software Update, Leopard

The Mac OS X 10.5.8 update is now available through Software Update. Among the listed features are resolution for compatibility issues when joining AirPort networks, disappearing monitor resolutions in System Preferences, and Bluetooth reliability.

The update will also upgrade Safari to version 4.0.2, though I’m not sure if that includes those of us still on Safari 3 (I’ll find out in a moment!) There are a number of other reliability and compatibility tweaks that are listed here. Security features are available here.

The update is not available through Apple’s download site as of yet.

Edit (1:55 PT): I can confirm that this update does upgrade those of you still on Safari 3, like I was, to Safari 4.0.2. The combo update is also now available.

TUAWMac OS X 10.5.8 available through Software Update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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European newspaper giant Axel Springer has transformed itself from an old-school, print-based publisher to a digital media powerhouse. Key to that transformation was embracing mobile digital content delivered by iPhone 3G.

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Filed under: OS, Other Events, Developer, Deals, iPhone, iPod touch

Addison-Wesley Professional, the publishers of many books on both Mac and iPhone development, is hosting the Voices That Matter: iPhone Developer’s Conference October 17 and 18th in Boston. TUAW wants to make sure that the budding iPhone devs in our readership are able to attend the conference, so we have an exclusive discount code for you to use when you register.

The conference is focused at experienced Mac developers who are looking for a quick way to get the skills required to build, test, and distribute iPhone and iPod touch apps. The speaker list for the conference is impressive and includes:

• TUAW’s very own Erica Sadun (Conference Program Chair)
• Aaron Hillegass, author of Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (Keynote Speaker)
• Mac and technology pundit Andy Ihnatko (Keynote Speaker)
• Peter Bakhirev
• Lee Barney
• Erik Buck
• Bill Dudney
• Dan Grover
• Daniel Jalkut
• Steve Kochan
• Bill Licea-Kane
• Mike Morton
• Jonathan Rentzsch
• Fraser Speirs
• August Trometer
• Marcus Zarra

TUAW readers can save $150 on their conference registration by providing the special priority code PHNTUAW when registering. If you register before September 12th, you can combine your TUAW discount with Early Bird pricing and save a total of $350.

The iPhone app market is still going strong even in this execrable economy, so this is a great opportunity for Mac developers to get the smarts to make the leap to the iPhone market.

TUAWGet your TUAW discount to the Voices That Matter: iPhone Developers Conference originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPhone

The International Business Times is reporting today that Apple execs, including Greg Joswiak, Apple’s VP of iPhone and iPod product marketing, are expected to meet with China Unicom this week to try to cement an iPhone deal there.

The iPhone hasn’t been available in China, at least officially, and Apple is eager to gain a foothold. China trade officials say there are one billion phone users in the country, and Apple would love to have an extensive bite of the market.

Apple already has telecom approval in China, and Apple has localized the iPhone software to work in Chinese.

China Unicom is one of the country’s large, state owned mobile carriers. There have been some pictures of purported Chinese iPhones posted on Chinese websites, but it isn’t known for sure if they are legit. Engadget noted last week that there appears to be a regulatory approval in place for the iPhone in China, complete with the requested Wi-Fi block from the Chinese authorities.

Apple said last April that it hoped to have the iPhone in China by next year.

TUAWApple bigwigs on the way to China for iPhone deal originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Reviews

As you’ve probably gathered by now, I’m on a search for the perfect writing tool. I did a short blurb about Ulysses 2.0 a few weeks ago, I read Megan Lavey’s Friday Favorite review of Scrivener with interest, and I’ll have a detailed review of Storyist v2 soon — if I can get over the writer’s block I seem to have picked up with regards to that post.

There are two main schools of thought when it comes to writing tools. The first type is the do-everything tool, complete with project management and storyboarding, bulletin boards to pin notes on, even places to write up biographies of your characters. Storyist is a perfect example of one of these tools. The second genre, of which Ulysses and WriteRoom are members, is the minimalist school. These type of writing tools pare the user interface down to a minimum and are designed to give authors an environment in which to concentrate on putting words on paper. The analogy is sitting in front of a typewriter and writing.

WriteRoom [US$24.95] was last covered by TUAW back in 2007, and it is has been interesting to see the evolution of this product and its siblings over the past two years. It’s currently in version 2.3.7, and there’s a free trial download available on the website.

Continue reading Writer’s tools: WriteRoom wreally wrocks

TUAWWriter’s tools: WriteRoom wreally wrocks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In It Might Get Loud, director Davis Guggenheim invites Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin), The Edge (U2), and Jack White (The White Stripes) to tell the history of the electric guitar from their own unique perspectives. How did each develop a sound unique to rock music? See It Might Get Loud and find out. The documentary comes to theaters on August 14.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Bad Apple

Across the pond in the UK, in what may be a bit of a legal “lost in translation,” an 11-year-old girl was using her iPod when, according to her, there was a hissing noise and an ominous pop. It rapidly heated, and then allegedly jumped 10 feet into the air. She was left with a melted mass of unplayable music. Needless to say, not usual iPod behavior. (To be fair, you might not be surprised at spontaneous suicidal combustion after asking it to play anything by, say, Paris Hilton, though there’s no evidence the girl committed that particular crime against nature.)

She and her father contacted Apple, seeking a refund for the presumably out-of-warranty iPod. Apple apparently agreed to return the purchase price of the iPod, and sent a letter to the family offering the refund, denying overall liability with regard to the incident, and included a standard confidentiality clause in it.

This is where things went a bit off the rails.

The little girl’s father went ballistic, refused to sign, and soon enough, there was press coverage. The Times UK covered the incident, complete with photograph of the girl holding her toasted iPod, accusing Apple of slapping the girl with a “gagging order” and attempting to “silence” them, mafia-style. Whoa, there, Times.

1) This is no gagging order. As nice and evil and meaty as such an accusation sounds, a gagging order comes from a court and no court is involved here. It implies that Apple has gone after this family legally, and that there’s been a hearing and a decision and a court order. Quite the opposite. This is just a regular, ho-hum contract between two parties, describing the things they want out of each other.

While the family may be shocked they got a letter, from a legal perspective they should be shocked if they didn’t get one. Apple doesn’t feel like they’ve done anything wrong and isn’t going to start admitting its products are combustion risks by returning money out of warranty, which is exactly what it would do it if gave money to these people without some sort of settlement agreement.

2) A confidentiality agreement is standard operating procedure. Sure, a letter filled with legalese is a little heavy-handed, but hey, the iPod was out of warranty and when a company agrees to give you money it doesn’t feel it owes you, especially in a situation such as this one, it can very well request confidentiality you keep your trap shut about it going forward. It’s standard practice even when the company thinks it probably does owe you money. No courts are involved, and litigation is spared where the parties would fight over whether or not the money is owed. And when a confidentiality agreement is sought, it’s also pretty standard to remind the parties the possible consequences of breaching the agreement.

Remember: no court is involved here and Apple and this family can reach whatever agreement they want. If the family wants an admission of liability from Apple, they remain absolutely free to pursue a lawsuit in which it will be determined whether or not Apple is at fault. And now, of course, having disclosed all the contents of the letter, Apple I’m sure has rescinded whatever refund it offered.

The UK Times has vastly overstated the standard form letter that Apple sent to them when they sought an out-of-warranty refund. I suspect, however, that Apple could have averted this public relations issue had it said, “look, we’re happy to give you your money back. We have no idea why that iPod went kablooey. It could be any number of reasons, including many that don’t involve us at all. So if you want us to give your money back, we will, but you have to agree not to discuss it. Why? Because that way people won’t think we make defective and dangerous products when it’s not at all clear that we do, and giving you your money back is good business, not an admission of liability.” And then, when a legal-sounding letter shows up in the mail, nobody is shocked.

TUAWApple most assuredly NOT slapping family with “gagging order” over iPod fire originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To keep Surfline.com, with 150 live-streaming cameras in key surf spots around the globe, functioning glitch-free, product manager Graeme Rae uses iPhone: “The surf doesn’t stop. With iPhone, I can reboot a server from the beach.”

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For anyone trying to navigate Lollapalooza 2009, one of the biggest music festivals in the U.S, running August 7-9 in Grant Park, Chicago, Jim Dalrymple (www.loopinsight.com) reports that there are several iPhone apps for that.

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Filed under: iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage, App Review

After writing about the GV Mobile situation on TUAW the other day, a helpful TUAW reader sent me a Google Voice invite (thanks Ian M! You rock!). I set up my account, hopped over to a jailbroken 3.0 iPod touch and downloaded a copy of the software via Cydia. I then copied it off the touch via sftp, signed it with my developer credentials and installed it through iTunes on a non-jailbroken iPhone to see what I’d been missing.

GV Mobile offers a pretty nice feature set. You can use it to set your Google Voice preferences, such as your preferred phone, so that when calls come through the right phone rings. That’s an awesome feature on-the-go. Yes, the same option is available at the Voice website, but I really like the simple interface GV Mobile offers to switch that number with just a couple of taps.

You can dial directly from the app out to other phones. You still use your AT&T minutes but you avoid having to navigate through the Google Voice command interface. When the call is over, you return to the application.

The SMS and voicemail features are also very nice, each offering a dedicated screen and easy to use interfaces. A lot of design thought went into the program and it shows, especially in these two options.

Unfortunately, since the application was ported for a jailbreak install, it would no longer remember my user credentials between sessions. Be aware this approach works fine for review but isn’t meant for a day-to-day bypass of the App Store, unless your Google username and password are trivial to type over and over again.

Despite the excellent number setting, SMS, and Voicemail features, I felt that most of the application features really needed to be integrated at the OS level, which they presumably will be in Google Chrome or Android. Apple provides its own OS-level telephony system and using this app for outgoing calls really felt more like work than time savings. Yes, the outgoing International rates are superb on Google Voice and the connection quality far exceeds that of Fring‘s SIP-based services or Skype‘s iPhone app. That said, I think the application could have benefited from a greater focus on the SMS/voicemail features with the telephone portion being pushed back in prominence.

The program does exhibit a few minor quirks. For example, when I tap on the call history tab, I’d prefer that it gave me a button to load that history from Google Voice rather than do so automatically and trap me, especially when I meant to hit another tab.

All said, I really did enjoy using GV Mobile. I think it has good functionality and must have been a really good App Store offering, while it was there. If you do have a jailbroken iPhone system to test it on, it’s certainly worth a spin. And if you find you use it, the application is donationware.

TUAWHands on (a little late) with GV Mobile for jailbroken phones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Focus on the iPhone to iPhone communication with 3 nice apps…

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Tags:advertisement communication contacts iphone 3gs photos tvadvertisement, communication, contacts, iphone 3gs, photos, tv

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Filed under: Features, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly Mac troubleshooting Q&A column! This time we’ve got questions on using an AirPort Extreme as a wireless to ethernet bridge, automatically backing up a USB flash drive, building smart playlists in iTunes, migrating an iTunes Library and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you’re running and which version of Mac OS X (we’ll assume you’re running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don’t specify). And now, on to the questions.

Continue reading Ask TUAW: AirPort Extreme bridge, iTunes smart playlists, USB drive backup, and more

TUAWAsk TUAW: AirPort Extreme bridge, iTunes smart playlists, USB drive backup, and more originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, Airport

Apple quietly today introduced a new 2TB Time Capsule, its combination of a wireless router and network hard drive, for $499, while dropping the price of the 1TB model to $299, and discontinuing the 500GB model.

The new 2TB Time Capsule is available immediately and is shipping today from Apple’s online store. This should hopefully be a welcome addition for those who back up many computers with Time Machine, as many use more than 1TB for their Time Machine backups.

[via MacRumors]

TUAWApple introduces new 2TB Time Capsule, drops price of 1TB model originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple, iPhone, App Store

The U.K. advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority, says Apple is correct when it claims its App Store is better than the Google store for the Android.

In a TV ad Apple claimed that the iPhone had apps for “just about anything”. Fans of the Google Android, or at least ten of them, complained that their phone offered a similar and equal function.

Apple responded that it made the claim “only on the iPhone” because its App Store “provided users with a unique experience unmatched by any other application marketplace, including the Android Market”.

“Because Apple had shown there were far more applications available for the iPhone than the G1 phone, and user experience of the iPhone and the App Store was distinct from its competitor, we concluded that the claim ‘only on the iPhone’ was justified and not misleading,” said the ASA in its ruling.

The Apple App Store has about 50,000 applications, while Google offers about 2,100.

In the past, Apple hasn’t done too well with the ASA. In November an iPhone ad was banned for misleading customers about the speed of the phone on the internet. Apple also had to pull ads for its first generation iPhone in August of 2008.

TUAWApple wins fight in U.K. over iPhone v Android claims originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Accessories, Cool tools, iPhone, iPod touch

Sometimes, when I see something new, I have to smack myself in the head and think: “Why didn’t I think of that?” Remember the old V8 Juice commercials? I just heard about one of these and It’s the X-Power1 USB Rechargeable Battery Backup Cable from Xmultiple.

It looks like a USB charging cable swallowed a AA battery. What’s inside is a lithium-ion battery with more capacity than built into any current iPhone or iPod. Using this cable, sync or charge your device while the internal cable battery charges. It will take about 3 hours to fully charge. Then when your device runs out of juice, plug in the cable and get power while you charge your device’s battery.

I spoke with Alan Pocrass, the CEO of Xmultiple, and found that the information now circulating around the Internet is wrong. If you’ve already read something about the product, that information was based on a production prototype that will not be be built. The publicity picture is also inaccurate. The cable will work with iPhones, iPod touches and USB-charging iPods only, so earlier iPod owners (those that charge via Firewire) are out of luck.

Keep reading for more specifications…

Continue reading X-Power1 Rechargeable iPhone/iPod charging cable: Everything you know is wrong

TUAWX-Power1 Rechargeable iPhone/iPod charging cable: Everything you know is wrong originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone, MobileMe, First Look, App Review

Apple’s long-awaited free iDisk (iTunes link) program brings some great new features that makes MobileMe more appealing. But, there are a few holes and the program certainly doesn’t do everything.

Basic layout
When you launch the iDisk app, you’ll see most of folders that you normally have access to in your iDisk, plus any other folders that you might have created. What you won’t see are the Backup, Sites, Software and Web folders that are normally in your iDisk. You can access these folders by enabling them through the software settings. Pressing the edit button will allow you to delete any user-made folders you’ve added to iDisk, but you can’t create new folders.

Along the bottom are buttons for the iDisk itself, recent files viewed, files that you’ve chosen to share and public folders you’ve subscribed to. The settings screen is pretty basic, but leads to one of the gems of this piece of software — an extremely documented help section that goes over every aspect of the app.

Continue reading First Look: iDisk app

TUAWFirst Look: iDisk app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Software Update, Leopard

A friend of mine let me know that last night, Apple seeded Mac OS X 10.5.8 Build 9L30 to developers. Apparently, this version had only one item in the change list, that item related to an issue with waking from sleep mode when connected to external monitors.

With this one minor change, as well as the fact that the previous build was pushed to developers only five days earlier, it appears that the last version of Leopard is about to show up in Software Update. OS 10.6, Snow Leopard of course, is expected to ship towards the end of September.

TUAW wants to know when you think 10.5.8 will actually appear. Take our poll, and if none of the canned answers fit your thoughts, be sure to leave a comment.

TUAWTUAW Poll: When will Mac OS X 10.5.8 be released? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Retail, iPhone

Our neighbors to the north are grumbling about the lack of 3GS iPhones. The major suppliers, Fido and Rogers, are both reporting they are sold out pretty much across the country. Some Apple Stores in Canada have them in stock, but a couple of calls revealed that even Apple Stores are often out of stock.

Both Rogers and FIDO say new shipments will arrive in ‘weeks,’ and that back orders are being filled on a priority basis. No dates are being given, and buyers are being told to check back with their local stores or online.

There were similar shortages in Canada and the UK earlier this month. During the Apple conference call last Tuesday, COO Tim Cook said iPhone demand has been “staggering in almost every country we’ve shipped in.”

Apple will need to fix this issue pretty fast. The company says it is going to release the new iPhone to 20 more countries on August 22.

Thanks to our reader Alistair for the tip.

TUAWiPhone supplies dwindle in Canada originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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