Iphone Updates

Filed under: Hardware, Odds and ends, Surveys and Polls, Apple

Okay guys and gals,

After (in some cases) years of speculation, the Apple tablet iPad is finally here. What we want to know is, based on what you’ve seen of it so far, will you be getting one? Is it everything you’ve always dreamed of? Or were you disappointed by what you saw?

Vote in the poll then hash out your thoughts in the comments!

View Poll

TUAWWill you be getting an iPad? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – TUAW – Unofficial Apple Weblog – QuicktimeStream – KeynoteStream

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, SDK

It’s been a long time coming, but the last hurdle is gone — Apple has lifted the restrictions against 3G VoiP calls from the iPhone Software Development Kit.

The implications of this are pretty huge. Not only does this mean that VoIP apps like Skype [iTunes Link] can now be easily updated to allow VoIP access over 3G on the iPhone, it also means that the 3G-enabled versions of the new iPad should be able to take full advantage of VoIP over 3G as well. The iPad does come with a microphone and a speaker, so while you won’t be able to hold the device up to your ear like a phone (although it would be pretty funny to watch you try), calls over Skype or another VoIP program should theoretically be just as clear on the iPad as they are on the iPhone’s tiny speaker. This has the potential to really shake up the wireless industry, especially in the U.S. — with pay-as-you-go 3G on the iPad costing no more than $30 a month, the iPad suddenly seems like a very attractive alternative to the iPhone with its far more expensive (and contractually obligated) carrier plans.

iCall [iTunes Link] has already been updated with VoIP over 3G enabled, and with all restrictions now lifted, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Skype and other VoIP apps follow.

[Via Gizmodo]

UPDATE: Fring announces the availability of their iPhone app, now with 3G calling and video.

TUAWiPhone SDK updated: VoIP over 3G now permitted originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – AppStore – Apple – Skype – Software development kit

Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Odds and ends

And let the accessorizing begin! Tom Bihn, maker of messenger bags and laptop bags, has already announced two bags that will fit the iPad. One is a sleeve called the “Cache” that will come in a size specific to iPad, and the other is a vertical messenger bag, called the “Ristretto” that adds a shoulder strap for all your iPad-carrying needs.

We’re quite sure that the market for iPad cases, covers, and accessories will be as swift as it was for the iPhone (Ed: Probably swifter, given all the excitement for the tablet). If nothing else, Apple’s zealous regard for industrial design has led to some gorgeous and stylish accessories for its products. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for the iPad.

TUAWTom Bihn announces two iPad bags originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Apple – Laptop – TUAW – Industrial design

Filed under: Gaming, Hardware, OS, Software, Apple, Developer, App Store, SDK

What a day it’s been. The tablet is finally out. That’s right, the tablet we’ve been waiting years for is real and will be on sale soon, only it’s called the iPad, and it’s pretty similar to the iPhone. Just in case you missed something today, here’s everything we’ve learned about the magical and revolutionary device, all lined up in one easy-to-browse list. Just think, in 60 days, you’ll be able to flip through these posts with your finger. On a 9.7″ IPS screen, I mean.

Liveblog and major news

• Apple Event Metaliveblog
• Apple announces the iPad
• AAPL goes on a rollercoaster ride
• See tweets live during the event on @tuawlive
• iPad pricing starts at $499, available in 60/90 days

Hardware

• Apple’s official iPad video, specs page
• Apple making its own chips, starting with the A4
• iPad will ship with 802.11n Wi-Fi, 3G optional
  
• Apple announces keyboard dock for iPad
• Five iPad accessories available at launch
• What’s missing from the iPad

Software

• All iPhone apps will run on the iPad
• Apple announces iBooks, an e-reader for iPad
• Apple shows off new versions of iWork apps for iPad
• iPhone OS 3.2 SDK released, supports iPad but covered by NDA

TUAWAll of the news from today’s iPad announcement originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Apple – App Store – IWork – Software development kit

Filed under: Apple Financial

The above image from SingularityDsgn graphically shows the wild roller-coaster ride that Apple’s stock has been on today. It traded at roughly 1.5% below Tuesday’s closing price heading into today’s iPad announcement, but started climbing during the iBooks announcement. AAPL’s stock took a major leap when pricing information was released, and is currently trading around 209.69, up about 1.75% (please note that these numbers fluctuate frequently).

Lots of jumping is about right for any Apple event, though the big jump when price was announced is somewhat surprising. AAPL actually tends to drop after an event, as there are so many rumors flying around ahead of time that investors are easily underwhelmed. But it looks like especially the pricing news won their approval today. As always, this is not official stock information, and you shouldn’t make any buy or sell decisions based on what you read here.

TUAWAAPL goes on a roller-coaster ride originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roller coaster – Apple – Recreation – Theme Parks – Attractions

Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, One More Thing

Apple announced a few accessories for the iPad today, including an iPad Keyboard Dock. This will be welcome news for those of us who just can’t get on board with an on-screen keyboard. When in the keyboard dock, the iPad sits upright, giving a more traditional laptop feel to the device. No word yet on pricing.

Other accessories include a dock to turn the iPad into a digital picture frame, and a case that serves as a stand.

Image courtesy Engadget

TUAWApple announces keyboard dock for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – TUAW – Engadget – Laptop – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Apple

The hardware details are largely obscured, but what is obvious is that there is a definite home button — much like the one on the iPhone. Additionally, there seems to be a cut-out in the casing which could reveal a front-facing camera. Using some image editor trickery, Engadget has also determined the screen size to be as expected, roughly 10 inches.

These images seem plausible to me mainly for the fact that they reveal very little information. Also, the fact that the hardware details are hidden from the photographer seems very Apple-esque. If I remember correctly, Apple did something similar during the development of the iPod.

Over in the Twitterverse, notable Apple watcher (and TUAW founder) Jason Calacanis is claiming to have had in his possession a pre-release Apple Tablet; he had some back-and-forth with Matt Schlicht of Ustream, who also intimated that he got an early Apple present. Some of the hardware details that have been “leaked” are a front- and rear-facing camera, 10-inch OLED display, HDTV tuner, and a low-power mode specifically for reading ebooks.

The information about the multiple cameras and low-power mode are definitely plausible; however, the use of an OLED display and inclusion of an HDTV tuner would indicate some sort of funny business. Given that Apple is in the business of selling HD television shows, it seems weird that they would make it easy to get that same content for free.

One thing we know for sure, though, is that with less than four hours until the start of Apple’s event showcasing its latest creation, things are really heating up.

TUAWEleventh hour rumors brew new details on Apple’s tablet originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – IPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPod – Organic light-emitting diode

Filed under: Hardware, Multimedia, Cult of Mac, Education, Apple, Apple History

Earlier this month we took you down memory lane for a 1987 video that Apple produced about a futuristic product called the Knowledge Navigator.

It was a super smart, full featured tablet with internet connectivity, video conferencing, datebook and browser. It also contained a nifty personable digital assistant.

Ten years later, Apple was still selling the idea of an enhanced tablet. One of our readers sent us this YouTube video of a concept that Apple sent around to educators. It had a lot of the same great technology, like video conferencing and browsing, but the video shows a variety of form factors, including a desktop unit, a tablet, and a small hand held device.

It’s pretty clear Apple has done a lot of thinking about what a tablet should do. Who knows if any of these concepts will get into tomorrow’s announcement, but the technology is pretty much here to make the dreams into some kind of software/hardware reality.

Will an Apple tablet change the world? Stay tuned.

Thanks to Fred for the Apple nostalgia!

TUAWApple and the tablet go a long way back originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Cult of Mac – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Knowledge Navigator – YouTube

Apple today introduced iPad, a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, playing games, reading e-books, and much more. Its high-resolution Multi-Touch display lets you interact with content — including 12 innovative new apps designed especially for iPad and almost all of the 140,000 apps available on the App Store. At just 0.5 inches thick and 1.5 pounds, iPad is thinner and lighter than any laptop or notebook. iPad will be available in March starting at the breakthrough price of just $499.

Filed under: iPod Family, Cool tools, Hacks, iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage

The BTstack project that we’ve covered before on TUAW, offers a way for iPhone and iPod touch units to communicate with arbitrary external Bluetooth devices. To date, it’s been used to connect keyboards, mice, and wiimotes with iPhone software.

This system has now been extended to the first generation iPod touch, bringing all six iPhoneOS models into the Bluetooth arena. Since the 1st gen touch does not provide its own built-in system, it requires an external module. This video uses the dongle described at this blog post to demonstrate the keyboard connection functionality.

Although the 1st generation touch is an increasingly deprecated system, it’s nice to know that it hasn’t been left out of the Bluetooth picture. Old touch units make excellent hobbyist systems. When jailbroken, access to a full suite of Unix tools offers a budget-priced platform with great prototyping potential. With this new Bluetooth stack support, the 1st gen touch has just become an even more exciting system for projects like remote monitoring.

TUAWFound footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – IpodTouch – Apple – Bluetooth – IPod

McGraw-Hill’s CEO confirmed that the new Tablet device from Apple would be based on iPhone OS. That’s a big relief for all developers on iPhone and iPod Touch who would be able to continue work on the SDK and release on both platforms.

Apparently, the iTablet will have the iPhone OS 3.2 as a start, let’s see tonight for the official launch!!!

Tags:ipad iphone OS islate itablet McGraw Hill tabletipad, iphone OS, islate, itablet, McGraw Hill, tablet

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail

The weekend’s almost here, thank goodness. Here’s some Apple Store news to get you in a recreational mood.

First, the new Frankfurt Apple Store is set to open this weekend after a brief delay. Originally slated for December, the grand opening was canceled just two days before the scheduled date. The reason given was (and I’m relying on Google translate here because I don’t speak German) that “it still wasn’t completely perfect for an opening,” so we assume that construction delays or other finishing touches took longer than expected. The event was re-scheduled for January 2010 without a specific date.

That mystery date turned out to be this Saturday, January 23rd at 11:00 AM. You’ll find full travel directions here. Let us know if you attend the opening!

Additionally, ifoapplestore reports that Spain’s first Apple Store will appear in Valencia. According to ABC.es, the store will occupy a part of the beautiful and historic building at Calle de Cristóbal Colón 25, designed by architect Lucas Garcia Cardona in 1889. The city is keen to ensure that changes made to the structure by Apple will not violate the “…the special protections afforded the (historic) building.”

If you’re in Valencia and notice any construction or other obvious signs of large-scale work on this building, let us know.

TUAWWeekend Apple Store news originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Store – Apple – Google – Spain – ABC

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 first quarter. The company reported its highest quarterly revenue and profit to date and outlined new accounting standards.

Filed under: iLife, Software, Video, Reviews

N.E.D. 3.3 is a free program that downloads and plays purchased high definition videos at a 1280 X 720 pixel resolution. It works very well showing you the video titles in the left pane of the screen, and presenting sliders allowing you to change playback speed, zoom to full resolution, and control playback of the videos. There is an option for full screen, but if your screen is very large you’ll find that you can’t make the display window larger than its native resolution. You are allowed to burn a copy of the course files and may use it on up to 3 computers with N.E.D. installed on them. Since the course cannot be played from the burned DVD, It must be imported into the N.E.D. library which copies the data to your documents folder, or is linked to via its path. This works quite well, but the courses are large and file size is a consideration. The iMovie 09 101 $29.50 was made up of 133 movies, played for over 6.5 hours and weighed in at 1.53GB.

The price of the courses for purchase range from about $20 to $385.13 for a 13 course set covering everything in Adobe CS4. Depending on how much want to learn, streaming may be a better, more cost effective option. This is where it gets a bit complicated so I’ll just lay out the plans.

• Free: allowing streaming of 10% of each tutorial to decide if you want to subscribe.
• $1 for 3 days: allowing full streaming of all 146 courses.
• $15 per month: allowing streaming of 96 core courses giving you 304 hours of training.
• $25 per month: allowing streaming of all 146 courses giving you 424 hours of training.

There is no minimum subscription period and subscribers can cancel at any time. When watching a stream using the online N.E.D. web player, less options are available and the screen resolution isn’t as good as the purchased course. The N.E.D. web player is set up similarly to N.E.D., but the only controls you have are choosing a video and starting or stopping playback. The resolution provides a smaller less detailed picture coming in at around 750 X 560 pixels and is not re-sizable. I found this to be a bit of a problem in some programs that use a lot of screen real estate and complex crowded menu bars. In such an event, it’s sometimes hard to see exactly which pull down menu is being used and which item is being selected. The reduced screen resolution can make busy dark screens hard to read. I don’t feel that this is a deal breaker though, since if needed, you can always go back and watch a video as many times as it takes to get the message. At the difference in price between buying and streaming, I’d suggest taking the free trial and deciding yourself if the streaming image quality is to your liking.

The Using N.E.D.i, the iPhone/iPod app, I discovered a few significant problems. The app allows you to either download bought programs, or stream the library if you are a subscriber. File sizes become more of in issue here, and downloading a course could well be made easier. In downloading the iMovie 09 101 course to my iPhone, I found that screen sleep had to be turned off, since otherwise the iPhone would sleep closing the program and killing the download, and that the device needed to be plugged in because the download took many hours. Sometimes the download would just fail and have to be re-started. The biggest problem, especially for devices without a lot of storage, is that the one course took 901.77 MB of storage. That’s a big number and if you are downloading a few tutorials, you could be cutting into GBs of your precious storage.

The usability problem extends what I mentioned previously when streaming to a Mac using the N.E.D web player. If you had problems deciphering specific things viewing a resolution of 750 X 560 pixels, or thereabouts, imagine how much trouble you’ll have seeing what’s going on using the iPhone/iPod touch screen? In trying a few dozen movies showing screens of varying complexity, I almost always had trouble following along since the picture was to small for me to differentiate menu bars items, or to read dialog boxes that appeared within programs, on the little screen.

I can propose a bit of a solution to this, which isn’t perfect, but it may be enough. Since streaming to the phone is quick enough, and the resolution is no better than a download when viewed on your iPhone, I would think a good way of using it is to stream the tutorial to your computer to learn the program, and then use N.E.D.i as a refresher for things you’ve already learned but have partially forgotten. Doing this can jog your memory, and hearing the narration (with some help from more or less seeing the video) can help. Since each of the tutorials is an aggregate of many video files, each clearly marked with the objective, you can choose an appropriate video if you are away from your Mac as a reminder of what you’ve learned earlier. I’ve found that doing this has helped me since I often have a pretty good idea of what’s going on and just need to relearn one or two minor points.

The only one of the the three products that I would recommend with no hesitation is N.E.D., which downloads purchased high quality versions of the tutorial to your Mac. If your eyes are good and you find that the quality is acceptable, N.E.D. web, a subscriber service which streams the videos to your Mac at lower resolution while giving you less controls, can be a good option, but you’ll have to decide that for yourself using the free trial. I cannot recommend N.E.D.i, the streaming and downloading iPhone/iPod touch app, unless you just intend to use it to refresh your memory.

What Nonlinear Education came up with is really commendable in theory, but in practice, large file sizes and lower than optimal screen resolution when using the N.E.D web player or N.E.D.D.i can wind up being problematic.

TUAWTutorials as you like them with N.E.D. and its family originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Mac OS X – ILife – IWork – IPhone OS

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Rumors

Electronista is reporting today that Apple is in talks with “probably all six” of the largest publishers in preparation for the tablet’s release (I think it’s safe to officially call it real now). Publishers Marketplace notes that it’s all going down in New York City, with ebooks being the topic of conversation, specifically pricing and all of that good stuff.

It’s assumed that Apple will sell books through iTunes with a revenue-sharing model similar to what’s currently behind the App Store. The report states that the publishers are keen to control pricing and retain access to the files themselves. It’s interesting to note that Amazon recently (as in yesterday) announced a revised and similar business model for the Kindle, scheduled to go into place on June 30th.

Now, just because Apple is in talks with all six publishers doesn’t mean each deal is a lock. At least not before next week’s dog-and-pony show. Expect a demo, some partner announcements (with select CEOs briefly sharing the stage) and a fanboy-crushing delay of 4-5 months.

TUAWApple meeting with “nearly all 6″ largest trade publishers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – App Store – iTunes – Amazon.com – New York City

Filed under: Hardware, Software, Apple

In all the years I have spent as an Apple fan, following various rumor sources and keeping my own mental list of who had the most credibility on various types of Apple theories, I never thought in all my days I would ever read, let alone write, the following sentence: The Wall Street Journal has just announced that Apple is releasing a tablet computer.

All of their information is centered on the alleged mystery device that will allegedly be announced at a now official event next week. Here are some of the juicier tidbits they passed on from those mysterious people “familiar with” what’s happening on Inifinite Loop:

• Always partial to the education market, one thing this device might be used for is e-textbooks, presumably including the sort of multimedia content that goes beyond the printed page.
• Textbook publishers aren’t the only publishers Apple has been talking to. They’re chatting up Conde Nast, Harper Collins, The New York Times, and even CBS, Walt Disney Co, and Electronic Arts (for games).
• A “Best of TV” service is possible, with a subscription to a set of on demand programs chosen by the consumer.
• Those same people are also reporting there is a revamp of iTunes coming, which would separate the purchase of iTunes content from the iTunes application.
• The device will have a 10 or 11 inch screen, a virtual keyboard, and “sharing” is mentioned — two ideas being thrown around are the ability to leave sticky notes on the device or even have the camera recognize faces of those using it.
• Price is expected to be around $1000, and they’ll be selling it to people who already have iPhones and laptops as well.

Of course the piece itself doesn’t have a full confirmation from Jobs, so we’ll have to wait until next Wednesday for that: Apple’s invitation to the media event on January 27th is titled “Come see our latest creation”, and is generally considered to be the public debut of a tablet-style device. But when the Wall Street Journal says there’s a tablet coming, there’s very likely a tablet coming, and if everything they’re saying about this device is true (which would make sense — we’ve heard most of it before in rumor form), look out world.

TUAWWSJ: Tablet confirmed, Apple to reinvent old media originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Wall Street Journal – New York Times – Electronic Arts – IPhone

Filed under: Multimedia, Odds and ends, Reviews, Beta Beat

It’s not every day that I get to view a product introduction on my iPhone. In fact, today may have been the first time ever that a product intro has been done through mobile messaging.

Eric Hoffert was one of the original developers of QuickTime and is now the CTO for Thwapr, so he really understands video. Thwapr provides mobile-to-mobile video sharing — in other words, it’s a way to create a video on your iPhone and share it with friends on a variety of mobile phone platforms. The idea is that you or your recipients don’t need to download any special apps, and that the video is shown in its best possible format for the mobile device that receives it.

That’s the idea. However, I found the beta of Thwapr somewhat clunky to use, and I’m not sure I really “get” the reason for the service as it is currently set up. To start with, if I want to share a video message or photo with a friend (at least a short one), I can use MMS. If it’s a longer video or I want to share it with the world, I’m going to use something like YouTube and send friends a link. I asked Leigh Newsome, Thwapr’s VP of User Experience, why I wouldn’t just use MMS?
His reply? “MMS is very, very limited – it works poorly cross-phone/cross-carrier, has limited file sizes ~300k, and doesn’t store info in the cloud. Thwapr works cross-phone/cross-carrier, with large files, and stores info in the cloud. So, even if your phone gets wiped out, you can still get to your content either from your mobile device or the web.”

Eric Hoffert’s reply was similar: “Another benefit is that the ThwapBack experience of rich media conversations is (a) accessible across a wide range of mobile phones, more than a hundred and seventy, and (b) is stored in the cloud. MMS conversations are stored on each device.”

The way Thwapr works at the current time is that you record a video with the iPhone’s camera (it also works on Android phones), then email it from your registered email address to “me@thwapr.com.” Once it’s there, you go to the thwapr.mobi web site using Mobile Safari, sign in, and the movie is sitting there in an “uploaded Thwapr” folder. You choose a friend or group of friends from a list of registered users, and then you share the movie or picture with them. Within seconds, they receive a text message (standard text message fees apply) with a link in it. They tap the link, which opens Mobile Safari, and they can view the message and even “Thwapback” (reply) to it.

That’s the problem with the beta, in my opinion. It just takes too many steps to Thwap somebody. I was able to ask the executive team if they are planning an iPhone app to improve the user experience, and received this reply: “The approach with using email, camera, browser, SMS is targeted to enable many phones across many carriers. We are advanced on an iPhone app that provides a seamless integrated experience for capture and Thwap. We plan to deliver the iPhone app in Q1, please stay tuned and we will keep you posted.”

That’s good to hear, because I’m not sure I’d use Thwapr in the current form. I do like the ability to see a thread of text, photo, and video replies, but I just don’t think that switching between Messages, Camera, and Mobile Safari is the way to get things done efficiently. It’s apparent that I’m not the only person who feels this way, since I saw a message from another person involved in the product intro today who said, “Upload, send link, view on mobile browser. Can’t this already be done without regard to platform?”

I’ll keep my Thwapr account for now, because I think it would be useful to eventually be able to zap longer video messages back and forth quickly and easily. If you’re interested in getting in on the beta, point your browser to Thwapr.com to sign up and give it a try.

TUAWThwapr: Mobile-to-mobile video sharing from one of the creators of QuickTime originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Apple – Mobile phone – YouTube – Multimedia Messaging Service

Filed under: Desktops, Software, Cool tools, MacBook, Developer

I’ve never really gotten into the whole 3D file navigation thing (ever since “It’s a Unix system! I know this!”, it’s seemed pretty corny), but BumpTop might be the exception I’ve been waiting for. It’s a 3D overlay for your OS X desktop that turns files into 3D objects to move around, pin on the walls, pile up or break down as needed. It’s not too shabby — with all of these things, there’s a fine line between adding in graphic splashes for the heck of it, and making sure everything has a real function, and it seems like BumpTop walks that line pretty well. Most of the graphical flair does actually help with a function also. The app also supports the multitouch trackpad on MacBooks, so there’s a little bit of innovation to play with as well.

Mashable says BumpTop is planning even more integration in the future, piping content from sites like Facebook and Twitter straight to one of the desktop’s walls, and more involvement with the touch interface, even as we await the tablet’s announcement.

I don’t know if it’s quite enough for me to leave behind the 2D icons and filenames that have worked well so far, but BumpTop is an interesting experiment in adding that third dimension into your normal workspace. The app is a free trial download, with a Pro version available (multitouch support, unlimited stickies, instant search) for $29.

TUAWBumpTop offers a 3D desktop on your Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BumpTop – Mac OS X – Apple – Facebook – Twitter

Filed under: Rumors, iPhone

With several analysts weighing in today on tablet components, there are a few items that might make you sit up a little straighter and take note — especially if you’re eager for an alternative to your AT&T contract.

First, Ashok Kumar broke down his expectations for components in the hypothetical tablet, and Richard Doherty chimed in: a PA Semi-designed, Samsung-manufactured ARM processor may be the product’s heart — possibly sporting more than one core, which would give the imaginary product plenty of imaginary power. Kumar went on to ID a Broadcom Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module and a Qualcomm WWAN package as fellow travelers on the tablet motherboard.

The presence of this Qualcomm chip in the parts list is what set off Scott Moritz at The Street, who extrapolates a Verizon deal for wireless data on the product; Qualcomm and CDMA are essentially synonymous, but the current iPhone uses an Infineon GSM module. While the same chipset could work with Sprint as a carrier (and that’s the company already behind Amazon’s original Whispernet service, save for the latest Kindle model with Global Wireless), Verizon would certainly be the people’s choice.

Second, Brainstorm Tech/Apple 2.0 cites a client note from Peter Misek at Cannacord Adams, who believes that the “One More Thing” at the 1/27 announcement may well be a Verizon iPhone to arrive late in Q2 2010, with an LTE/4G model due in 2011. The hypothetical ViPhone would sport a CDMA radio for domestic use but would still be usable on GSM networks outside the US (not unlike the Blackberry 8830 World Phone model) — in contrast to the report from The Street a few days back, which seemed to hint at a CDMA-only Verizon phone. How dreamy.

TUAWAnalyst tidbits suggest a Verizon tablet or iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPhone – Apple – PA Semi – Verizon – Qualcomm

Filed under: Software, Freeware, iPhone, App Store

Location-based social networking on the iPhone is a tough game to play, apparently — the popular Yelp app [iTunes link] has recently updated to version 4.0, and along with a friend finder, hooks to Facebook and Twitter, and an updated version of their augmented reality Monocle feature, they’ve added the ability to “check-in” from locations around whatever city you live in. When you visit a great pizzeria, for example, you can send a ping out that says you’ve been there along with what you think of it. This replicates the functionality of another app, Foursquare [iTunes link], which is steadily building up its own social network prowess (you may have seen the “mayor of” tweets lately — that’s Foursquare doing its thing, either on iPhone or through a desktop interface).

In this case, the imitation isn’t appreciated — Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley tore apart Yelp’s new feature in a recent tumblr post, both comparing the two extremely similar “check-in” systems to each other and claiming that Yelp “copied the wrong stuff,” and that Foursquare is already working on improvements to their own system.

Which is the good news for us consumers, as competition tends to breed some great innovation. Personally, I haven’t been too interested in an app that helps me broadcast my location everywhere just yet, but there’s no question that these are popular apps and their popularity is growing. We’ll have to see what new features Foursquare has planned and how Yelp eventually responds.

TUAWYelp updates with check-ins, Foursquare not happy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – App Store – Apple – iTunes – Dennis Crowley

Filed under: Cult of Mac, Other Events

With the Apple tablet announcement growing closer by the day, we at TUAW have been putting on our thinking caps trying to brainstorm out exactly what the new device might be called. Of course, since we don’t have a clue to base our guesses on (aside from the thin support of domain name registrations), we decided to turn over the decision and brainstorming process to you, the TUAW reader. What do you think the new device will be called? Place your vote in the following poll, and add your guesses to the comments. Let your imagination free — but do remember we’re a family friendly site.

Speaking of thin support & quite amusing — It’s not much to go on with respect to a name, but as suggested by reader Nicholas, we did take a closer look at Apple’s invitation copy. “Apple’s latest creation,” without the spaces, becomes “Appleslatestcreation,” which of course does contain the phrase “Apple Slate.” Yes, well, it seems pretty silly and inelegant to me too, and not something Apple would do… and yet. [Editor's note: OK, we went and looked again -- the exact phrase "Apple's latest creation" isn't there, it says "our latest creation," so this bit of pipe-dreaming goes from silly to ludicrous... don't blame Erica, blame the editing.]

TUAWTake two tablets and call us in the morning originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Cult of Mac – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Macintosh – TUAW

Last week’s update of Logic Pro to include 64-bit support is getting rave reviews at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show, according to The Loop. Music industry professionals like audio engineer CJ Vanston tout Logic Pro 9.1 as “a game changer,” noting that “the 64-bit gauntlet has been thrown down by Apple with Logic.”

Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone

The battle of snarkiness between AT&T and Verizon is resulting in benefits for subscribers.

Yesterday, AT&T announced a new unlimited voice and data plan for smartphone owners, including those who use the iPhone, that offers unlimited voice and data service for $99.99 per month. The change was the result of Verizon lowering the cost of its unlimited plans earlier in the day, and consumers are the beneficiaries of the battle of the cell phone titans.

Prior to the announcement, iPhone users paid $100 monthly for unlimited voice, then tacked on another $30 a month for unlimited data. Starting on Monday, January 18th, 2010, a combined unlimited voice and data plan is available for $99.99. That’s a savings of $30 per month. For a Family Talk plan with two iPhones, the deal is even better — $179.99 per month.

Unfortunately, AT&T still charges for text messaging separately, so if you want to add on an unlimited texting plan it’ll be another $20 per month. Beginning on Monday, existing AT&T customers can change to the new plans without penalty or a contract extension by using the online account tools at www.att.com/wireless.

TUAWAT&T lowering cost of unlimited voice and data for iPhone users originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Verizon – AT&T – Smartphone – Apple

Filed under: Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, Steve Jobs

A commonly cited statistic, repeated on day one of just about every communications course I’ve taken, is that people are more afraid of speaking or presenting in public than they are of dying. I’ve never been able to find an official source for this statistic, but it’s indisputable that most people recoil in terror at the thought of giving a presentation, whether it’s to an audience of five or five thousand.

Steve Jobs obviously does not share this phobia. His stage persona during keynote presentations has been carefully crafted to convey to audiences his enthusiasm for whatever it is he’s discussing that day. Whether you call it the “reality distortion field” or just good public speaking ability, Jobs’s skills as a speaker are seemingly unmatched in the realm of CEO presenters.

Carmine Gallo is one of many communications experts who’s scrutinized Jobs’s presenting skills; in fact, he has literally written the book on the Apple CEO’s style, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, which we reviewed last October. Rather than shell out for the whole book, though, you can get a nice synopsis of the key aspects of Steve Jobs’s presentation style from Gallo himself in the YouTube video below:

The points Gallo makes are simple to follow, and pretty much identical to both what TUAW gleaned from reviewing his book and what I learned in the communications courses I took in college. Interestingly enough, the presentation skills Gallo enumerates are also very similar to basic skills needed in essay writing: present a clear topic, outline what you’re going to talk about, provide readers/audiences with clear transitions, make statistics relevant to your topic and to your audience, and so on. Underlying all of these ideas is one unifying principle: keep it simple.

Gallo is far from the first person to analyze Steve Jobs’s onstage skills. Back when I was taking a course in Business and Professional Writing, I came across a post from Presentation Zen comparing the different styles of Apple and Microsoft presentations. Presentation Zen makes the observation that Steve Jobs uses his Keynote slides as a primarily visual medium, with very few words (often only a single phrase) per slide and a minimum of graphics. Jobs uses Keynote slides to emphasize his key points without drawing too much audience attention away from where it belongs: on Jobs, the presenter. By contrast, Microsoft’s presentations are an all-too-familiar iteration of the “PowerPoint Hell” we’ve all suffered through at one time or another, whether in a college course or a business meeting: reams of text on the slide, confusing graphics, busy slides, and masses of bullet points that draw your attention away from the presenter and have you spending half the presentation just trying to read the slides.
I’ve deliberately emulated Steve Jobs’s presentation style for several of my own presentations since reading the Presentation Zen article, and by doing so every speech I’ve given has been successful in three key ways: alleviating any public speaking anxiety I may have felt, keeping the audience engaged and enthusiastic about the topic, and most importantly, getting the point of the presentation across without being a massive bore. Given that Jobs has an industry-wide reputation as a phenomenal showman, it certainly can’t hurt to swipe some of his presentation tactics for your own speeches – although be aware that the black turtleneck and jeans look doesn’t work for everyone.

[Via lifehacker]

TUAWHow to present like Steve Jobs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs – Carmine Gallo – Microsoft – Apple – Public speaking

Filed under: Rumors, Apple Financial, Steve Jobs, Apple

Got a company you’re trying to sell? Apple might have a check with your name on it — BusinessWorld reports that they’re in the mood for picking up some new businesses lately. Even after high profile acquisitions like LaLa and Quattro Wireless, Apple’s still got plenty of cash in the bank, and they’re looking to buy. BW points to the hire of Adrian Perica, a former Goldman Sachs banker, as the company’s “first dedicated M&A specialist,” and says that with Perica on board, Apple’s looking to get the jump on rivals like Google and pick up some new technology and talent via acquisition.

So what kind of companies will they be picking up? Apple is a company that’s always on the move. While the Mac market is strong, they seem to have realized that their main strength lies in breaking new ground, from music players to smartphones, and so they’ll likely pick up companies slightly different from their current core products. They also have a history of buying smaller companies, so you probably won’t see them do gigantic merger deals. Rather, they’ll find a company working on a new tech that interests them, and then just swallow the little firm whole (see Cover Flow and any number of their other pickups in the last decade). So if your ten-person company is working on, say, a revolutionary new tablet control scheme, or a new category of personal computing, that knocking on your door might be Apple with a truckload of money.

[via MacRumors]

TUAWApple flush with cash and ready to buy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Steve Jobs – LaLa – Google – TUAW

Filed under: Software, Tips and tricks, Troubleshooting

Now in its fifth iteration, iChat has gained a host of features as it has matured. However, the addition of new features has brought on new complexities and requirements, including both hardware and bandwidth issues. For instance, at the time of its release, iChat 3 users needed a minimum of a Dual 1 GHz G4 and a 384 Kbps Internet connection to initiate a four-way video conference on iChat 3. Photobooth and Backdrop effects, which came along in iChat 4, call for a minimum an Intel Core Duo processor. And then, of course, one must climb the proverbial firewall.

Fortunately, there’s iChat’s Connection Doctor. Besides telling you what your system is capable of (for example, screen sharing, multiperson video conferences and video recording) and the audio and video quality of your video chat (resolution and frame rate), the Connection Doctor can also tell you if networking issues (i.e., a firewall or port issue) are the source of your video conferencing maladies. To launch iChat’s Connection Doctor, click on “Video” on iChat’s menu and then select “Connection Doctor.” It’s just what the doctor ordered.

TUAWExperiencing the iChat woes? Try the Connection Doctor originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Videoconferencing – IChat – Intel Core – Firewall – Business

Filed under: iPod Family, TUAW Tips, iPhone

Dear Aunt TUAW,

Boxcar is killing my battery life (at least, that’s what I’m guessing — I love Boxcar, but since I began getting 20+ notifications a day, I’m seeing the battery drain quite a bit faster). What kind of battery pack can you recommend to help my poor iPhone stay online and available? I need to stay connected.

Thanks in advance from your favorite nephew,

Mikey

Read on for Auntie’s reply
My darling Mikey,

I love all my nieces and nephews alike — but you are all my favorites! As for battery boost solutions, there are basically two kinds of iPhone solutions currently available on the market. You can go for cheap and awkward, or for expensive and well-designed.

That’s not to see that the cheap and awkward solutions are unmanageable or wrong, it’s just that the cheaper solutions tend to be large battery dongles that extend off your iPhone’s connector port at the bottom. If you want a battery solution that fits more like a case, just expect to pay more.

I personally own a pair of Monoprice dongles — the same ones my colleague David Winograd praised as “such a deal.” Costing just over $12 for the 2200 mAh, you can recharge your iPhone while on the go. Attach the dongle, which is about half the size of the iPhone itself, for thirty minutes or so and your iPhone will be fully recharged. You can usually get more than one recharge off the pack.

If you’re looking to pay a little less, you can pick up a 1900 mAh unit for nine dollars and change. It won’t provide the same boost but it will save you a few dollars.

These low end units share two big problems. First, they change the shape and weight of your iPhone when in use. If you’re running low on battery and need to use the phone with the booster plugged in, you’ll find that the device becomes much more awkward to use. The longer shape makes it particularly awkward for landscape interaction.

The extra weight is definitely noticable. Yes, you can use the phone with it plugged in (and I find myself doing so more often than I care to admit), but it’s not as smooth for use.

The second problem lies with iPod touch units. Using a plug-in booster like the Monoprice units will cover the audio out jack. That means you can recharge or use headphones but not both. I’ve looked around for a male to female connection cable extension but have not yet succeeded in finding one to buy [they're out there -- both dirt cheap and relatively pricey. -Ed.]. Even if I did, it would be seriously awkward carrying around a dangling battery charger pack.

Bottom-attached packs work best when you plug in the device each time you stick it in your backpack, purse, or briefcase. It ensures that your unit recharges while you’re not using it and you always pull out a fully-charged device. There are also some chargers designed to work with your regular sync/charge cable, like the well-regarded 4400 mAh Gum Pro pointed out by our commenters; there are even solar-powered chargers like this Dexim unit, which doubles as an iPhone stand.

You can cut out a bit of awkward if you’re willing to spend a little more money. The mophie juice pack air provides “the world’s thinnest rechargeable battery case” for $80 (with free shipping). It creates a more case-like solution for powering your iPhone, which at least from a geometric point of view, is really nice. Plus, the juice pack air is officially certified by Apple.

The downsides are the cost (obviously) and the lower boost — mophie does not guarantee that you receive double the battery life time. With the cheaper dongle solutions, you often get well over twice the life. The 2200 mAh I own is often good for a complete second recharge (note that I do not go to full discharge before recharging), giving my iPhone quite an extended battery life.

Regardless of which kind of solution you end up going with, keep in mind: you’re going to increase the weight you’re carrying around, you’re going to have to be responsible for more stuff, and the shape of the iPhone is going to change — case form factor or not.

If you’re the kind of person who uses the iPhone from a pocket, battery boostage may not be the solution for you. But if you’re a purse/backpack/briefcase kind of guy, you may want to look into a booster pack.

Love, kisses & snuggles,

Auntie T.

TUAWDear Aunt TUAW: What’s the low down on battery packs? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Apple – IPod Touch – Monoprice – IPod

A clever new infographic from gigaom.com shows how the App Store puts more than 100,000 apps at your fingertips — and generates millions of dollars for app developers worldwide.

“Design USA: Contemporary Innovation” at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York offers visitors an iPod touch on which to access exclusive exhibition content. The iPod touch supplements the physical exhibition with “a wealth of interviews, slide shows and snippets of performances, all related to the 78 architects and designers represented in the show. Available free, this device sends the traditional audio guide the way of the one-horse buggy.”

Today, MobileMe introduced a new Gallery app for iPhone and iPod touch. The app features iPhone- and iPod touch-optimized controls and beautiful gallery displays that make browsing photos and videos easier and more interactive than ever before. The Gallery app is free for MobileMe members and available now on the App Store in iTunes.

Filed under: Features, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we’ve got questions about firewall settings, SSDs, MacBook battery life, faxing in Snow Leopard, and much more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you’re using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we’ll assume you’re running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don’t specify), or if it’s an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Benjamin asks

I’ve just upgraded my 2006 MacBook Pro to Snow Leopard, and I’m unimpressed. When I log in, it always asks if I want to allow incoming connections for EyeConnect, and the same again when I start Vuze. The way the new Exposé scales all windows to the same size is awful, too. How can I make the Firewall remember my decisions, and is it possible to revert to the original Exposé?

You’re not the only one who likes the old Exposé behavior, but I’m afraid I’m not aware of any way to switch back. However, on your second question I can provide some help. Go to the Firewall tab of the Security Preference Pane. Assuming the Firewall is on, click on the Advanced button. This will take you to a sheet where you can manually add applications as well as select the firewall’s behavior for them.

Sean asks

I’m looking to get an SSD to go alongside the hard drive in my late 2008 unibody Macbook Pro (I’ll be using the Optibay and replacing my optical drive). I want it to hold my operating systems (osx 10.6/win7, bootcamp is really important) and games while the existing hard drive will hold everything else. I’m looking for something under $200 (or maaaybe just a little bit above, only if it’s real worth it) and have noticed that with that price point I’ll probably be getting a 64gb drive. There are so many different drives and I’ve heard so many horror/success stories that I don’t know which drive to pick. Any suggestions?

Most of the buzz I’ve picked up is that the Intel X25 is the gold-standard at the moment; however, it remains a pricey choice. Accordingly, you might want to have a look at the Kingston SSDNow series. You can get a 64GB Kingston in the $150 range. Check out this roundup at Laptop Magazine and this Ask Engadget for lots of discussion and suggestions.

Nikoooo asks

I have bought a MacBook Pro 17 inches unibody in July last year. It’s, so far, the best Mac I ever owned. Unfortunately, the battery does last as much as I would have liked. According to Apple, the battery should last 8 hours. Surely this is an exaggerated value… and I would be fine with, say, 5 hours or so. But my battery does not last more than 3 hours, with minimum screen brightness and wifi on. Is there any software that could help me monitor my battery consumption? Are there some specific settings, that I am missing, that would help me get the infamous Apple’s 8 hours?

Power usage is always a tricky thing, but I do have some suggestions. For one, go into your Energy Preference Pane and choose the “Better battery life” option under Graphics. This will cause your MacBook to use integrated graphics rather than the discrete graphics chip (and thus trade 3D performance for battery life). Frankly, though, 3 hours sounds low, so you should probably be looking for any background processes or applications that may be sucking down processor cycles. Have a look at the Activity Monitor and sort by % CPU to see if there’s anything suspicious.

There is an application that might be of some help: Sleep Monitor 2 (€20). It will give you some idea of when your battery is being drained the fastest (though it won’t actually tell you what’s doing it). Nonetheless, it might be helpful in narrowing down what might have been going on at periods of highest power usage. Finally, you might also want to have a look at coconutBattery which will report on the condition of your battery itself.

stef asks

I am a student in high school and in some classes we have to draw little diagrams for our notes, mainly in chemistry, and i was wondering if there was a plugin/add-on/program that i could use to temporarily convert my trackpad into a 1:1 simple diagram drawer to insert simple line drawings into notes. i know i could use a number of simple drawing programs but i would rather not have to hold down the trackpad while trying to draw. I am using a 13″ mbp running snow leopard.

We recently covered something that might do the trick for you. Inklet ($24.95) turns your trackpad into a mini graphics tablet. For maximum precision you’ll also want to get the accompanying stylus.

Heimbachae asks

A friend of mine recently bought a Mac mini (2.26GHz) and she is having a problem hooking it up to her HDTV. It’s hooked up currently by mini dvi to hdmi and her max output is 1080i. When she clicks that it enlarges it too far so that she can’t see her Menu bar when it’s on 1080i, but when it’s on 720p there is a black box around and it doesn’t fill the entire screen. Is there any way to get this to fill her screen without distorting the image?

This should not be a problem; in fact, the Display Preferences should even have some TV specific options including an Overscan mode that you can try (look in the Options tab of the Displays Preference Pane). Frankly, though, you should not have to use Overscan on a modern HDTV. So if the HDTV is actually a 1080p panel and you’re using the 1920×1080 resolution my guess is that the problem may be on the TV side. Make sure the TV is in “just scan” (or similar) mode; you should be able to toggle between different video modes on the TV itself, so try going through them to see if that helps.

DMoney asks

I’m running Snow Leopard on a black MacBook. Is it possible to send faxes from Snow Leopard? Free would be nice, but I’m willing to pay for the software.

Now that Apple has discontinued the USB Modem for Mac (although you may still be able to find it online, and USR sells a similar device), your best bet may be to send faxes from Snow Leopard via a multifunction printer/scanner that includes faxing (as described in this Apple Support Doc). However, this is limited to certain devices and if you don’t already have one of those it probably won’t do you much good. My recommendation would probably be to use an Internet fax service that allows you to upload a PDF to a Web site and have it sent to a fax machine. There are a variety of such services out there, but I can’t really offer any first-hand experience.

betaboy78 asks

Is there an app for the Mac that will let me connect to my iMac over the internet and sync my iPhone while it is connected to my MacBook Pro? I know this may seem weird, but on more than one occasion, I have been traveling and my iPhone has crashed and had to be restored, or swapped out, and I had to wait to get home (sometimes a week or more later) to restore it. If I could just hook my iPhone up to my MacBook Pro, yet sync over the net to my iMac, life would be great.

I don’t believe what you describe is possible. However, I do have some suggestions for the next time this happens. You could go ahead and reset your iPhone and sync it to your MacBook. Of course, this won’t help that much if your MacBook doesn’t contain the information that you want to sync. For contacts and calendar information you could have your MacBook and iMac sync over the Internet either with MobileMe ($99/year) or for free with Google. Unfortunately, your media and apps won’t be as easy. You could keep some media and apps on your MacBook (with iTunes Home Sharing, for instance) and, by the way, apps can be re-downloaded from the App Store for free. Once you get back home you can just then restore to the iMac. This is not an ideal solution, perhaps, but it should be enough to keep you going for the duration of the trip.

TUAWAsk TUAW: Firewall settings, Snow Leopard faxing, MacBook battery life, and more originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Mac OS X – Operating system – IPhone – Mac mini

Filed under: Hacks, Tips and tricks, iPhone, Music

I’ve been reading the Unplggd blog from Apartment Therapy a lot lately, because I recently moved into a new place and am trying to fill it up with cool stuff. And someone over there must be an iPhone fan, because I’ve seen not one but two great and simple tricks for the iPhone there recently. The first is the most billiant thing I’ve ever seen — if you happen to be listening to music or a conference call through the speaker on your iPhone and need it a little louder, you can just find a pint-size glass, put the iPhone in there, and voila, simple iPhone echo chamber. I’m surprised at both how easy this is and how well it works, but it does. Very impressive.

Second is a little more obvious — if you’re using an iPhone to read off a recipe in the kitchen, with your hands messy and wet, you can put it in a baggie like I do, or you can CryoVac it, if you happen to have one of those sitting around. Either way, the capacitive touchscreen still works through a thin layer of plastic, and your iPhone will live to see another day.

Ok, so the second tip is not quite as great as the first one. But a pint glass! Trying to listen to all of those boring conference calls with my iPhone’s speaker will never be the same again!

TUAWTwo super simple DIY hacks for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Handhelds – Smartphones – Touchscreen – Unplggd

Filed under: Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store

I’ve become a big fan of game developer Capy (formerly Capybara) in the past few months — their releases of Critter Crunch on iPhone [iTunes link] and Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes on the DS have won me over quickly. But I’m not sure I agree completely with their co-founder, Nathan Vella, about what he says in this Gamasutra interview. His opinion is that the push towards the 99 cent price on the App Store is “the single most frustrating and terrible thing about App Store pricing.” He says the dollar price point is stifling, and he praises developers like Canabalt‘s Adam Saltsman for sticking with a higher price point even when their games are simple.

I do agree with Vella on one thing: no developer should sell an app for less than it is worth, and dropping to 99 cents to increase sales doesn’t work anyway. But certainly there’s a place for 99 cent apps on the store, and I know personally that a 99 cent price point will open me up to try apps I’m not sure about, especially apps that I might be interested in but that don’t offer a free trial. Clive Downie of ngmoco says as much later in the article: it’s about the balance between providing choice for your customer and supporting yourself as a developer.

In the end, Vella knows what he’s doing: he doesn’t say that 99 cents is always the wrong price, but that you should always stick to your guns and ask your customers to pay the right price. If a game is worth $4.99, or $6.99, or even $9.99, developers will find that customers who care about the quality are willing to pay for it.

[via IGN]

TUAWDevelopers on avoiding the 99 cent App Store price originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppStore – iPhone – TUAW – Gamasutra – Apple

Now available for download, FileMaker Bento 3 Contact and Customer Manager is the fast, free, and easy way to get instant access to contact and customer details. View call history, notes from meetings and conversations, upcoming to-do items, related documents and files, important emails, sales opportunities, receipts, and more. This download includes a free trial of new Bento 3 for Mac.

Julio Ojeda-Zapata (twincities.com) reports that the iPod touch “has taken classrooms by storm” in several Minnesota K-12 schools, increasing student enthusiasm and engagement and offering new ways to teach children with special needs.

Thomas Houston (switched.com) reports that Pro photographer Chase Jarvis has created Best Camera, an iPhone app “that lets you shoot, apply multiple filters and effects, and share via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and the Best Camera photography community.” In an accompanying video, Jarvis discusses mobile photography, shooting, and his new app.

As one of the largest research universities in the United States, the University of Washington brings together 65,000 students, faculty members, and administrative staff. From the laboratory to the dormitory, this thriving academic community stays connected with iPhone and the university’s proprietary m.UW app, which gives students and staff mobile access to campus maps, news, directories, course schedules, and lectures.

Brian X. Chen (wired.com) reports that Abilene Christian University has just finished the first year of a pilot program in which 1,000 freshman students each received a free iPhone or iPod touch to explore how the always-connected devices ”might revolutionize the classroom experience with a dash of digital interactivity.” Says Bill Rankin, a professor who helped plan the initiative: “I think this is the next platform for education.”

Reviewer Peter Cohen (loopinsight.com) writes that “iPhone and iPod touch both make great handheld gaming systems” and offers thirty reasons why in a select roundup of racing, action, and strategy games available in the App Store.

DLA Phillips Fox, founded 145 years ago, is one of Australia’s largest legal firms, providing services in 29 countries around the world. With iPhone in the hands of almost every partner in the 1,300-person firm, they can offer faster, more flexible responses to their clients’ legal needs. John Dockett, General Manager of IT, says choosing iPhone was “one of the smarter things we ever did.”

In an in-depth review of Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, Ryan Faas (computerworld.com) cites “performance gains, improvements to several collaboration tools introduced in Leopard Server, enhanced simple administration for non-technical users and new features designed for mobile access and for supporting the iPhone.” Adds Fass: “Snow Leopard Server is a tremendous value.”

Reviewer James Galbraith (macworld.com) gives the new quad-core 27-inch iMac computers with Intel Core i5 and Core i7 “Nehalem” processors 4.5/5 mice, calling them “worth the wait.” In performance tests, writes Galbraith, the 2.55GHz Core i5 iMac was “the fastest standard configuration Mac we’ve ever tested” and the Core i7 “showed even greater performance prowess.”

A custom coffee table book by co-author and publisher Rick Smolan takes you back to — and into — the story of Obama’s rise to the presidency. Says co-author and publisher Rick Smolan: “Every component of this project, from photo editing to design to video, was created entirely on a Mac.”

Filed under: Software, iPhone

Flash has finally made its way to the iPhone, with the help of some sneaky developers. The open source Gordon project, hosted over at github, has provided a JavaScript-powered Flash runtime. With it, you can actually load and view Flash’s .swf files, even on the iPhone’s Mobile Safari browser. I gave it a try earlier today and was delighted to find that several Flash demos ran fine on my 3GS, no jailbreaking or other installation necessary.

Admittedly, this is a very preliminary build, that supports just these SWF tags. Also, to make this work, Flash developers will need to encapsulate the SWF into an HTML wrapper, importing the Gordon JavaScript source and then loading the swf, as shown here. I am not a Flash expert by any means, but this seems like a pretty cool development for any iPhone enthusiasts who would be interested in seeing the platform support that technology. At this point, there’s not much to show for it besides a few demos (and who knows what Apple will think about this), but at least there’s a currently viable way to run and view Flash on the iPhone.

Thanks, August Joki. And yes, the project name is apparently a riff on Flash Gordon

TUAWFlash on the iPhone, in demo form originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Apple – Jailbreak – TUAW – Smartphones

Using a Mac Pro as the keystone of his rural radiology practice in Bemidji, Minnesota, Dr. Hilton Bakker is able not only to reduce the costs of his own practice but those of the hospitals who use his services. Says Bakker: “If hospitals can use Mac technology to do radiology cheaper, that’s my goal. Health care costs too much. If I can do my little bit to make it cheaper, that’s cool.”

Reviewer Jason Snell (macworld.com) awards Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server 4.5/5 mice, calling it a “fantastic product for workgroups, small businesses, and even schools to use.” Emphasing value, Snell adds: “Mac mini server is just too good a deal to pass up.”

Jim Dalrymple (loopinsight.com) reports on one-year-old non-profit organization Nuru, formed by ex-Marine platoon leader Jake Harriman, who “served two tours of duty in Iraq where he realized that the key to ending terrorism was to end extreme poverty.” To that end, Nuru educates communities in impoverished nations using technology, particularly Mac Pro and MacBook Pro computers, iPhone, Final Cut Studio, iChat, and MobileMe.

Apple opens its newest retail store on New York’s Upper West Side on Saturday, November 14 at 10:00 a.m. Set beneath a breathtaking all-glass arched roof, the street level of the Apple Store Upper West Side will offer more Macs, iPods and iPhones than any store in the world and feature the largest area ever created by Apple for personal training and technical support, including a 45-foot Genius Bar.

At DOER Marine, a California company that designs and builds subsea vehicles, engineers are working to create a manned vehicle that can explore the ocean floor. VP of Operations Ian Griffith credits iPhone for keeping their engineering team responsive and nimble enough to make it happen — no matter where they are in the world. “The iPhone accelerates how we perform as a team,” says Griffith.

Reviewer Mark A. Kellner (washingtontimes.com) calls the new Magic Mouse “transformative,” “supereasy and very fast,” and “really, really worth it.” Kellner concludes: “After decades of using computer input devices, I think this is the finest mouse ever.”