Iphone Updates

Filed under: iPhone

Fast Company has come up with an awesome Gizmodo iPhone Saga flowchart to help us follow the increasingly confusing case. The flowchart allows users to pick what they believe to be the true facts, and it lets them follow the trail to its “obvious” conclusion. Possible outcomes include: it was all an Apple conspiracy, bloggers are journalists, and Gizmodo bowed to corruption to get site traffic. So, where did you end up?

TUAWThe Gizmodo iPhone saga flowchart originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPhone – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Smartphones – Handhelds

It was 1998 and Apple had just released the iMac G3. It was a beautiful interesting computer: a sleek, all-in-one case, with something new called USB. One thing it didn’t have was a floppy disk. At the time, many believed Apple was insane for leaving a floppy disk drive off the iMac, but did Steve Jobs care? Nope. The floppy was archaic technology to him. A CD-ROM drive was where it’s at.

Well, thirteen years later — almost a decade after most people stopped using floppy disks, Sony, the inventor of the floppy disk, has officially announced that they are killing the 1.44MB storage device. As of next year, Sony will no longer manufacture the floppy disk.

Most of my Word documents are larger than 1.44MB nowadays and I can’t think of a single file I’ve created on my computer that I would need to transport to another computer, that would even fit on a floppy. Now that I think about it, I haven’t actually used my Superdrive for reading or writing any optical media since I bought my MacBook Pro two years ago either. In another ten years, will optical media have gone of the way of the floppy?

So, what have we learned? Steve was ridiculed for leaving the floppy off the iMac because he saw it as archaic. Now he gets to say “I told you so.” If Steve does have the power to gaze into the tech future, Adobe should be worried about Flash going the way of the floppy, as Steve reportedly told the Wall Street Journal, dropping Flash is no different than the decision to drop the floppy drive from the iMac. Will he be right again? Only time will tell.

TUAWThe floppy disk is dead (and Apple helped kill it) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Floppy disk – iMac G3

Filed under: Macbook Pro

Tests performed by PC Authority found a Core i7 MacBook Pro to be running very hot, climbing to over 100 degrees Celsius.

The magazine had a Core i7-620M based 17″ MacBook Pro on their hands for testing. While putting it through their benchmark suite, they noticed that it scored lower in Photoshop tasks then expected. Suspicious that heat might be affecting their results, they propped the machine on its side and repeated the test. Performance improved.

Having booted into Windows via Boot Camp, the group ran a Dwarf Fortress test that, according to PC Authority, got the temperature up to 84ºC. They said that the bottom casing was “almost too hot to touch.” When running Cinebench 11.5, the temperature climbed to 90ºC and eventually broke 100 (101ºC specifically) during a second test of Cinebench 11.5 the following day.

The magazine argues that a flaw in the machine’s cooling design caused the problem. The Fujitsu LifeBook SH760, which uses the same CPU, reportedly gets no hotter than 81ºC during the Cinebench test. Note that the SH760 uses a copper heat sink that vents out of chassis, unlike the MacBook Pro.

We’ve not done any testing of our own, nor have we heard of this issue before. I can tell you that my 2 GHz Intel Core Duo 15″ MacBook Pro gets pretty hot during World of Warcraft marathons, but that was a known issue with that older machine.

If you’ve got one of the 17″ i7 MacBook Pros, share your anecdotal experience with heating issues below.

[Via MacNN]

TUAWReport: Core i7 MacBook Pros running hot originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – MacbookPro – Apple – MacBook – Intel Core i7

Filed under: iPad

TUAWChitika labs estimates that over one million iPads have been sold originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPad – Apple – IPhone – Macintosh

Filed under: MacBook

The Apple fans at TwelveSouth have done it again, this time with a product for the oft-neglected MacBook.

SurfacePad Colors is a line of colorful leather pads that protect your glistening white MacBook from scratches and stains. The colors were well-researched by TwelveSouth. The Cyan Blue SurfacePad matches the current iPod nano blue, Perfect Pink is a perfect match to the Incase pink neoprene sleeve for the MacBook, Infinite Grey is identical to the grey on the base of the MacBook, and Orange Crush will make Clemson University, University of Tennessee, and Syracuse University fans and alums happy (hey, guys, you forgot that it also matches the orange in the Denver Broncos logo).

The SurfacePad Colors pads are available now from TwelveSouth for US$29.99, and they’re celebrating the release of this new product with free shipping. Be sure to check out the gallery on the TwelveSouth site for lots of sexy shots of SurfacePad Colors on a bevy of MacBooks.

TUAWNew from TwelveSouth: SurfacePad Colors for MacBook originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – MacBook – Denver Broncos – Clemson University

Filed under: Software Update

Apple has released Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 3.2. The update extends RAW image format compatibility to Aperture 3 and iPhoto ’09 for the following cameras:

• Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D / Kiss X4
• Leica S2
• Olympus E-450
• Olympus E-600
• Olympus E-620
• Sony Alpha DSLR-A230
• Sony Alpha DSLR-A330
• Sony Alpha DSLR-A380
• Sony Alpha DSLR-A450

It also addresses RAW processing issues for the Canon EOS 30D, Pentax K-x, and Pentax K-7. The update weighs in at 5.2MB and requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or above, or Mac OS X 10.6.2 or above.

TUAWApple releases Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 3.2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Canon EOS 30D – Aperture – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Digital camera

Filed under: Hardware

Google’s purchase of a firm staffed with former Apple employees is surrounded by mystery, according to AppleInsider. Agnilux is a small San Jose startup founded by a few former Apple employees, most of whom left the mothership right around the time of the P.A. Semi acquisition.

Other than that, nothing is known about the company. And I mean nothing — the NYT’s Bits blog even tried to do a drive-by of what they were up to, and came up with bupkis. It’s probably something processor-related, but whatever it is, Agnilux is guarding it so closely that they won’t even talk abstractly about what they’re working on, for fear that someone will “take our intellectual property before we’re ready.” The closest NYT gets is “some kind of server.”

Google has purchased the company, for a (surprise) undisclosed sum. What do they want with it? We have no idea — Google already knows their way around server architecture, and it certainly seems like they’re a little late to start installing new processors everywhere. Conspiracy money says that they really just wanted a nice chunk of Apple — if that’s the case, then with Agnilux on the payroll, they probably got what they wanted.

TUAWGoogle buys firm of former Apple employees originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google – PaSemi – Agnilux – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: iTunes

Apple has announced dates for the 2010 London iTunes Festival. The festival will run every night in July this summer. Sixty artists will be performing over thirty-one days at Camden’s Roundhouse in London. The first three nights will feature performances from Scissor Sisters, Tony Bennett and Ozzy Osbourne.

Tickets to the shows are only available for free via competitions. Apple will be giving away 25 pairs of tickets for each showing. The entry form for the competition is here. Users may apply for as many of the gigs as they’d like. Those who can’t make the festival can still watch highlights, read the latest news, and see behind-the-scenes photos on the event’s Facebook and Twitter pages. All performances will also be recorded and sold on the iTunes Music Store worldwide.

[via 9to5]

TUAWApple announces dates for iTunes Festival London 2010 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook – Unofficial Apple Weblog – London – iTunes – Apple

Filed under: iPhone

As you may or may not know, a beta of iPhone OS 4 is out in the wild for developers; ever since its announcement and subsequent release, little tidbits of information have been sneaking out. Today’s found footage comes to you by way of a nice little YouTube video displaying the latest OS’s multi-tasking chops.

In the video we see an anonymous finger switching between multiple, running apps and there is a nice little animation to accompany the transition. I won’t spoil the fun for you but needless to say, I can’t wait to get this on my iPhone!

[via Engadget]

TUAWFound Footage: iPhone OS 4.0, multitasking, app switching originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Operating system – Computer multitasking – Apple

Filed under: Macbook Pro

Since the MacBook Pro refresh last week, many have wondered why the 13″ MacBook Pro wasn’t updated with Intel’s latest i5 processors. My dad, for example, had been waiting on a MacBook Pro update since January, but since the 13″ stuck with Core 2 Duo processors, it took a bit of explaining on my part to convince him the 13″ MacBook Pro had been updated at all.

Lots of theories have been thrown around as to why the 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pros got i5 and i7 processors while the 13″ models stayed Core 2 Duo. Predictably, these theories range from somewhat plausible to tinfoil hat territory. Someone asked Steve Jobs why the 13″ MacBook Pro still used the older processors, and the recently chatty Steve replied, “We chose killer graphics plus 10 hour battery life over a very small CPU speed increase. Users will see far more performance boost from the speedy graphics.”

TUAWWhy the 13″ MacBook Pro still uses Core 2 Duo CPUs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs – macbookpro – Apple – Intel Core 2 – Intel Core i5

Filed under: iPad

To look at my office, you wouldn’t know right away that I’m a digital kind of guy. Rather than pull up a text editor on any one of the digital devices that surround me, I’d rather grab a pen and scrawl a note on a Post-it[TM] note. Eventually, the notes are either trashed or fall under some piece of equipment, so they’re definitely not for long-term use. Over the years, I’ve also accumulated a pile of loose-leaf binders, Moleskines, and other notebooks containing the detritus from my brain.

Now that I am iPad-equipped, I finally want to move my note-taking over to the digital age. I’ve looked at a number of iPad apps, and most of them didn’t fit my main requirement of being able to make multiple notebooks for different tasks. When I saw Penultimate from Cocoa Box Design (US$2.99 for early adopters), i finally pulled the trigger on buying a notebook app for the iPad.

While it’s not perfect (I’ll explain why in my review), Penultimate is the closest to what I’m looking for in an iPad note-taking app. Read the rest of this short review and check out the gallery to see what Penultimate is all about.

TUAWTUAW Review: Write and organize handwritten notes on your iPad with Penultimate originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPad – Text editor – Notetaking – Apple

Filed under: Rumors, iPhone

Busy Sunday. Despite earlier reports that the supposed next-gen iPhone prototype was actually a Japanese knockoff phone, the eagle-eyed team at Engadget hasn’t given up the chase. The latest development highlights a second device in some of the blurry spy shots from back in January that turned out to be testing shots of the in-progress iPad, and if you look at it just right… it looks quite a bit like the found phone.

Despite the blocky look of the device and the stranger-than-strange circumstances surrounding its discovery, Engadget is now saying it has a source to back up the conclusion that this is the expected design for the next iPhone.

Update: We were happy to have Joshua Topolsky join us on last night’s talkcast, so you can hear the story straight from him.

TUAWRound two: Engadget’s mystery phone travels into the past originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 18 Apr 2010 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – IPad – Engadget

Filed under: Software

Marketcircle, the Canadian software firm that brought you Daylite, Daylite Touch, Billings, and Billings Touch has just announced the next generation of their time-tracking and billing solution. Billings Pro takes advantage of many of the features built into other Marketcircle products and takes Billings to a new level as a multi-user application.

The new application will include a server piece (like Daylite), a way to use the application offline and then sync to the server (once again built upon Daylite), over-the-air sync (as with Daylite Touch), and Marketcircle’s expertise in desktop and mobile user interfaces.

The application is still in development, and beta testing won’t begin for a few months yet. If you’re an existing Billings user and would like to receive consideration as a possible beta tester, fill out this online form and you may hear from Marketcircle in a few months.

At this time, no ship date or price has been determined for Billings Pro.

TUAWMarketcircle announces Billings Pro, needs beta testers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marketcircle – Billings – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Daylite Touch – Software testing

Filed under: App Store

Mark Fiore made history on Monday when he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Though Pulitzers for political cartoons have been around since the 1920s, Fiore’s award was historic because it’s the first time the Pulitzer has been awarded to a political cartoonist whose cartoons don’t appear in print. That’s right — all of Fiore’s cartoons appear on the web.

I love political cartoons and think it’s really cool that internet-only cartoonists are getting the professional respect they deserve. Who knows, maybe the new Pulitzer will be given to a political cartoon that only appears on the iPhone? Hey, maybe Fiore should make an iPhone app so you can enjoy all his toons in one place? Oh, wait — he has. And Apple rejected it.

Yes, it’s a weird world when you’re good enough for a Pulitzer, but not the App Store. The Nieman Journalism Lab reports that Fiore submitted his iPhone app, NewsToons, to Apple in December. Apple then proceeded to reject it because his satire “ridicules public figures.” This isn’t the first time that political caricature has run afoul of App Store rules; Tom Richmond’s app featuring a cartoon Congress was vetoed in November, then almost immediately cleared for sale.

UPDATE: NYT is reporting Mr. Fiore has been “encouraged” by Apple to re-submit. So the lesson here? Win a Pulitzer, get a 2nd chance at the App Store.

Look Apple, I supported some of your bans in the past — like your ban on sexy junk apps — but political cartooning is slightly different. It’s one of the few disciplines that blend art, current events, and humor in such a way that they can convey the entirety of a relevant and complex issue into in a simple picture (or in Fiore’s case, a simple Flash animation). So how about you rethink your decision and allow his app into the store? It’d be a shame to see the first Pulitzer for political cartooning going to a cartoonist with an Android phone.

TUAWWhen you’re good enough for a Pulitzer, but not the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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App Store – Apple – Pulitzer Prize – iPhone – Mark Fiore

Filed under: iPhone

Do you love playing classic games via emulators on your Mac but hate using the keyboard to control those 8-bit heroes? Joypad is just what you’ve been waiting for. The simple app lets you use your iPod touch or iPhone as a classic joystick controller for game emulators on your Mac.

To use it, just download the US$2 Joypad app from the App Store. Next, download the free Joypad Connect software for Mac OS X 10.5 and above. Then simply launch Joypad on your iPhone and Joypad Connect on your computer. From Joypad Connect, select your iPhone or iPod touch from the list and get ready to feel like it’s 1987 all over again! You don’t need to be in range of a Wi-Fi network for Joypad to work. The app will work just fine over an ad-hoc network between your iPhone and Mac.

Here’s hoping we see an Xbox 360 controller version of Joypad for when Steam launches on the Mac later this month.

[via Cult of Mac]

TUAWJoypad turns your iPhone into wireless video game controller originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – App Store – Apple – IPod Touch – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: Developer

Former Delicious Monster and Tapulous developer Mike Lee (who now works for the mothership at Apple) took the stage to start off the last day of 360iDev in San Jose. He gave a wildly rambling speech about what it means to be an engineer and why programmers should not only make the best programs they can, but actually commit to changing the world for the better. Lee’s speech was probably the most broad, and least technical, of the whole conference. While other speakers had covered using Core Data in apps or how to make the most money on the App Store, Lee spoke about his work with the Terrorist Watch List, the beauty and insanity of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and why he has to convince himself that he is really as cool as everyone says.

As you can probably tell already, it was a heck of a thing to see. About halfway through the speech, summarized as best it can be below, Lee stopped flipping slides and just talked candidly and from the heart about his apps, his work, and his life. Read on for more.

TUAW360iDev: Mike Lee on changing the world with engineering originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – AppStore – Apple – Starry Night – Core Data

Filed under: iPad

Long a Mac desktop staple, OmniGraffle for OS X offers an interactive editor for laying out charts and diagrams. It’s a useful tool for planners, managers, and designers. I have not been a serious user of the product, nor do I own the latest OS X version, but I have used the software enough to recognize that it has made its own niche in the Mac ecosystem. The desktop versions I’ve used have been solid, robust and, most importantly, they’ve gotten the job done when the job is to lay out and edit organizational wiring diagrams.

Hearing that OmniGraffle was coming to the iPad surprised me. It wasn’t the kind of application that I’d expect to move smoothly to a touch based interface, given its reliance on a vast number of menus, palettes, and other tweaking elements that let you manipulate your creations just so.

The Omni Group developers thought otherwise. They envisioned a “back of the napkin” style application that would let you create diagrams on the go, whether at a business meeting or sitting on an Airport shuttle. They created an iPad application that depended on fingers rather than mice or styluses, to allow users to create high-quality editable and manipulatable presentations.

TUAWHands on with OmniGraffle for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Omni Group – IPad – OmniGraffle – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Laptopmag.com makes the new 15-inch MacBook Pro an Editors’ Choice, writing that “if you want a big screen, excellent battery life, and plenty of muscle in a compact package, no other system comes close.”

Citing “phenomenal battery life” in the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, Computershopper.com concludes: “Apple has once again taken what was already an impressive machine and made it even better.”

CNET editors award the 15-inch MacBook Pro an Excellent/4 star rating and write that “it now feels like the line’s powerhouse flagship model.”

Filed under: iPad

This will come as a disappointment to our international readers, but it seems that Apple has pushed the international iPad release back an entire month.

The iPad’s UK page used to say “Coming late April.” Today that was changed to “Coming late May.” The good news is that Apple has set a pre-order date of May 10th in the UK, Canada, France, Australia and Germany.

In a press release today, Apple said that the iPad’s US popularity is to blame for the lag: “Demand is far higher than we predicted and will likely continue to exceed our supply over the next several weeks as more people see and touch an iPad.” Apple also said they sold more than half a million iPads in the first week.

TUAWInternational iPad release pushed back to “late May,” pre-orders start May 10 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – IPad – Canada – France

Filed under: Macbook Pro

Earlier today, Apple released new MacBook Pros. The 15″, middle-of-the-line model hits the sweet spot for many MBP customers, and this latest iteration is just as desirable as its predecessors.

This model comes in two main configurations, distinguished by either an Intel Core i5 (2.4GHz or 2.53GHz) or Core i7 (2.66GHz) processor. Apple claims that they boost performance by 50% over the previous generation MacBook Pros (I can only imagine what my experience would be switching from a 2GHz Intel Core Duo).

All configurations start off with 4GB of RAM (upgradable to 8GB). As for the hard drive, the base 2.53GHz i5 and 2.66GHz i7 feature a 500GB Serial ATA Drive (5400 rpm) with several upgrade options, including:

• 500GB Serial ATA Drive (7200 rpm)
• 128GB Solid State Drive
• 256GB Solid State Drive
• 512GB Solid State Drive

That 512GB solid state drive will run you a whopping US$1,250! The base 2.4GHz i5 has a 320GB serial ATA drive and follows the same upgrade path with the addition of the 500GB Serial ATA Drive (5400 rpm).

As for graphics, the 2.4GHz and 2.53GHz i5 machines feature the NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB, while the 2.66GHz i7 model boosts it up to 512MB.

From there, the usual options and accessories are available, like glossy vs. non-glossy display options (with the higher-resolution panel) and pre-installed software like iWork, Final Cut Express, Aperture and more.

So what do they run? The 2.4GHz, 2.53GHz and 2.66GHz models start at $1,799, $1,999 and $2,199 respectively. They’re shipping within 24 hours.

TUAWOverview: The new 15″ MacBook Pro originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – MacbookPro – Intel Core i5 – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Nvidia

Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, SDK

An TUAW informant has slipped us some video showcasing a new application built into iPhone OS 4.0. Apparently bundled with iPods and iPhones, the new application transforms the iPhone screen into a simple remote control which is used to manipulate a menu system that’s fed out via a video lead. That menu system was captured in the recording shown at the top of this post.

Our source says that information bundled into the application shows that Apple intends this new “iPod out” functionality to be used in automobiles using the iPod Accessory Protocol (IAP). Hints as to this use are found in strings within the application itself. These strings include IAPSimpleRemoteCarButtonNotification and IAPSimpleRemoteCarButtonTypeKey.

He suggests that the application might be used in an Apple-branded car kit, where the user docks his iPhone or iPod touch and gains full access to the onboard audio libraries (no video at this time). The car kit could include both a video screen to show the menus and custom physical buttons that would produce the notifications to allow the user to move through those menus, and select from them.

Other hints in the application point to hands-free phone integration as well (kCTCallStatusChangeNotification). Incoming phone calls would be routed into the same system, allowing users to answer calls without having to pick up their device.

The idea of an Apple-branded iPhone Car Kit sounds pretty exciting to us. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

TUAWiPhone OS 4.0 Secrets: Hidden iPod application hints at automobile integration originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gaming

Here’s an interesting topic of discussion from Slide to Play: Now that Apple seems to be going all-in on gaming with its Game Center app, should the Entertainment Software Ratings Board start looking at App Store games?

The ESRB is the self-regulatory industry group that’s responsible for passing out game ratings to game developers, and marking whether games are appropriate or inappropriate for younger gamers. So far, they’ve been pretty hands off on the App Store, relying instead on iTunes’ Application Ratings to let consumers determine what’s right for them. However, gaming on the App Store is getting bigger, and the ESRB has already shown interest in looking at App Store apps.

Personally, I don’t think this is needed; the App Store environment is already held down with an iron grip by Apple’s editors, and if anything, it’s probably too sensitive. Besides, as a former GameStop manager, I can confirm that the ESRB’s ratings had little to no effect on most purchasing decisions in my store. Any parent who’s responsible enough to monitor their child’s game playing can probably already tell, even without an explicit rating, what’s appropriate and what isn’t.

On the flip side of the argument , though, it could be said that if Apple wants to be one of the big boys in gaming, it should play by the big rules. What do you all think?

TUAWShould the ESRB be on the App Store? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – iTunes – ESRB

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

The tile game Kachina came to the iPhone/iPod touch platform in waves. First, the app appeared as a single-player puzzle game using the Kachina rules. Then, an upgrade with in-app purchase allowed you to spend US$2.99 to get multiplayer functionality. Now, the Kachina app [$2.99] that you can find in the App Store is the full-featured version that includes both the puzzle and multiplayer modes. The developer, Gourami Games, has posted a mea culpa of sorts, saying:

The in-app upgrade has been removed and all copies are now enabled to play 2,3,4,5 player games. Now with an option to chose the computers difficulty level. Those of you that have made the in-app upgrade purchase, Thank you for your support, and we will make it up to you in a future update that will automatically detect the sale.

We like the idea behind the Kachina game, which uses Hopi spirit imagery and tests your math skills as you race for the high score, but this is a situation where too many serious bugs destroy what’s really an elegant game. Read on to see what we mean.

TUAWReview: here’s hoping the Kachina board game app gets some serious kinks worked out originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppStore – IPhone – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IpodTouch

Filed under: SDK

UPDATE: We’ve heard directly from Unity Technologies themselves, and the company’s CEO, David Helgason, has been in contact with Apple over the matter. Helgason says that so far Unity has “no indication from Apple that things are going to change.” This is consistent with John Gruber’s viewpoint on the new iPhone OS 4.0 dev agreement. Gruber originally thought that Unity3D would be a prime candidate for banning under the new rules, but given that Unity3D is, in Gruber’s words, “a pre-processor than a cross-compiler,” it’s nowhere near as certain that Unity will fall on what Gruber calls “the wrong side of the line” per the new dev agreement. Gruber’s opinion on the fate of Flash CS5′s iPhone compiler under the new rules is… we’ll say, “somewhat less rosy,” and given the already strained relationship between Apple and Adobe, he’s very likely correct.

Daring Fireball’s John Gruber has found an interesting potential “gotcha” in the newest developer agreement for iPhone OS 4.0. In a section titled “PIs and Functionality,” there’s a sub-section written in a way that could spell the end for translation tools like Flash Professional CS5′s Packager for iPhone or Unity Technologies’ Unity iPhone Pro. The relevant clause starts out by saying, “Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs.” That’s nothing new, and has already been the basis of many App Store rejections. But it goes on to say that apps “must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine.” This could be interpreted in many ways, if not for the clarification that follows: “Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited.”

Adobe’s Packager for iPhone is a tool that basically “translates” Flash games into iPhone-compatible versions using ActionScript 3. Unity iPhone Pro similarly allows game code to be outputted into Xcode, and from there it’s a very short trip to submitting an app to the App Store. Although the code these two tools output is fully iPhone-compatible (it would have to be, or it would never get approval), the new developer agreement could easily be interpreted as saying, “iPhone apps have to be developed from the ground up in Apple’s development environment, or we’ll reject them.”

If true, developers who have depended on tools like Packager for iPhone or Unity are, perhaps justifiably, going to be very displeased that their IDEs are no longer supported. It’s easy to see why Apple would make a move like this — having “ported” apps in the App Store opens the door to bug-riddled apps with potential security holes — but it’s also easy to sympathize with those who would cast such a move as only one more example of Apple’s iron-fisted approach to software development on their mobile platforms.

Disclaimer: I am not even remotely close to being a developer, so it’s entirely possible that I’m misinterpreting all of this. If I’m off-base and there are any devs out there who’d like to set me straight, let us know in the comments.

TUAWiPhone OS 4.0 dev agreement blocks using Flash or Unity as IDEs? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – AppStore – Apple – Unity Technologies

Filed under: iPhone

A few readers have sent us screen shots like the one here. As you can see, iPhone OS 4.0 is finally bringing MobileMe note syncing to the iPhone! Previously the only way you could sync notes created on your iPhone or Mail.app was via a hard-wire sync.

We’ll keep you updated as we discover more little tidbits from today’s iPhone OS 4.0 preview.

TUAWiPhone 4.0 OS Secrets: MobileMe notes syncing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Operating system – Mail

Filed under: Apple

During today’s Apple live event, it was noted that over 100 new features are being added to iPhone OS 4.0. We captured some of that information, and list just a few new features here for your reading pleasure:

• QuickLook: The feature everyone loves in Mac OS X now comes to iPhone and iPad
• Folder Storage: You can now have up to 2,160 apps on your iPhone through the use of folders
• Full app access to still and video data
• iBooks on iPhone: A smaller version of the iBooks app for the iPhone platform.
• Unified inbox for Mail: At last, all of your emails go can be viewed in one inbox; no more switching between inboxes. You can also have multiple Exchange accounts. The emails can be organized by threads, much in the same way that they are in Mail.app on the Mac.
• Wireless App Distribution: Companies that create custom in-house apps no longer need to distribute those through a “wired” connection; employees can now install the apps from anywhere, anytime.
• Homescreen Wallpaper, Bluetooth Keyboards: The iPhone and iPod touch will get these features that are now on the iPad.
• Fast app switching
• Background location: Apps can stay updated with location information even when you switch to another app.
• Selective use of location: Location can be enabled or disabled on an app-by-app basis.
• Local notifications: like push notification, but not requiring server access. It’s all done on the phone.
• Task completion: Items that take some time can now complete in background while other work is going on in foreground. For example, uploading an image to Flickr can happen in background while you’re doing something else.
• iAds: Developers get 60% of the ad revenue by adding interactive iAds to their apps. You can add fully interactive advertisements without taking people out of your app.
• Address and Date data detectors: Just like those in Mail.app in Mac OS X, these add information to Address Book and Calendar with a tap.

More detail on individual features will be forthcoming. Stay tuned to TUAW all day today for all of your iPhone OS 4.0 news.

TUAWiPhone OS 4.0: Over 100 new features originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Apple – IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IpodTouch

Filed under: App Review

As the clock ticks down on World Health Day, there’s an app that we should tell you about: the free iTriage 2.0 for iPhone (now also available for Android, and with a version coming soon for iPad). It’s a provider locator, a symptom and disease database, and more.

The iTriage story is intriguing enough; the app was created by Dr. Peter Hudson and Dr. Wayne Guerra, practicing emergency physicians who realized that patients and healthcare consumers were facing information deficits at the moments when they most needed clear and accurate guidance around symptoms, conditions and available care facilities. Patients might have to make several calls to different providers — a PCP, a specialist, and an ER or urgent care location — to identify the best pathway of care.

Hudson & Guerra’s approach to reducing this inefficiency was to break down the complexity of more traditional health resource tools and give users several pathways into the massive taxonomy of medical information. With iTriage, the app starts from the most urgent possibilities (the “Call 911″ button). It then works its way down through finding immediate care (ER, specialists, etc.), locating a physician, looking up symptoms and conditions, and an exhaustive library of procedure information (including medical web searches, images & video, and eventually average cost details).

Beyond the informational bounty of the app, there’s a separate layer that combines location awareness and a connection to the hospital systems for certain areas (mostly HCA hospitals in Colorado and Florida for now, but Hudson says the coverage areas are expanding). Hospitals that partner with iTriage’s parent company can choose to list additional information, like ER waiting times or areas of excellence, within the app.

TUAWiTriage provides mobile health advice with style originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPad – Health care – Apple – Medicine – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: iPad

Targus has been making cases and accessories for Apple products for 25 years, so it’s not surprising that, today, the company has announced a line of iPad cases, all of which look very nice.

The top of the line case is the Hughes Leather Portfolio Slipcase (at right) for iPad, which is made of beautiful oil-tanned leather and has a soft twill inner lining. It uses a magnetic closure, and comes in black and brown. This executive-styled slipcase is going to run US$59.99.

Next, Targus announced the Crave Slipcase for iPad (below). It’s made of a durable and weatherproof material, and has a stain-guard coating for protection. The Crave is available in black and silver, and has stow-away top handles as well as an accessory pocket for other goodies. This slipcase has a midrange price of $34.99.

Finally, the third new case for iPad from Targus is the A7 Neoprene Sleeve. The A7 comes in four colors: plum, brown, black, and blue. The A7 sleeve uses the Targus Tri-Cell Cushion System, which incorporates layers of foam, neoprene, and mesh for protection. This model will be available for $24.99.

All of the new iPad cases will be available some time in April of 2010.

TUAWTargus tempts the wallet with a new line of iPad cases originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPad – Apple – Leather – Targus

Filed under: iPad

Apple announced this morning that it sold more than 300,000 iPads on opening day. The comprehensive number includes pre-order pickups, deliveries to channel partners and walk-in sales at Apple Stores. Additionally, customers went home and downloaded more than 1,000,000 apps (oh, it’s on) and 250,000 ebooks.

As Steve Jobs notes in the press release, the average owner downloaded about 3 iPad apps and 1 book on Saturday. Selling 300,000+ iPads in 24 hours is impressive, but a far cry of Munster’s latest estimate of 700,000. Yet, it’s right on target with his initial guess: between 200,000 and 300,000. Note that “deliveries to channel partners” means that Apple still counts unit sales for any unsold inventory that’s at Best Buy or other authorized resellers.

By comparison, the iPhone 3G and 3GS sold one million units in three days and the first iPhone sold one million units in 74 days.

TUAWOfficial: Apple sells more than 300K iPads on day one originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – IPhone – Steve Jobs – IPad

Filed under: TUAW Business

Reader Chad C. sent us the above picture of the iEgg he and his wife made to wish us a Happy Easter. All of us at TUAW would like to extend that wish onto you and your families. If you can tear yourself away from that new iPad long enough to find some eggs, feel free to send some our way! If not, then you may want to check out these Easter-related iPad/iPhone apps with your kids:

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Special Easter Edition (free) — a narrated version of Beatrix Potter’s classic story with musical accompanyment. Be sure to keep an eye out for concealed hidden objects in each of the early 20th Century illustrations.

Dress Eggy (free) — paint and decorate virtual Easter eggs and send them to your friends as e-postcards.

Flip Eggs Easter Edition (free) — a memory matching game with an Easter theme.

Happy Easter!

TUAWHappy Easter from TUAW originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 04 Apr 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Easter – Beatrix Potter – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Holidays – Traditions

Filed under: iPad

We’re inside the 5th Avenue store and the fun continues, with stacks of iPad boxes on the counters, plenty of cases and accessories… and customers, customers, more customers. Gallery below.

Some things we know now re. the retail situation:

• Yes, there was an all-hands call this morning, at least here at 5th Ave.
• No, there wasn’t a ban on employees bringing their iPhones with them, as far as we can tell.
• Yes, the retail staff didn’t get to touch iPads until this morning, so for the first couple of hours they will be catching up.
• Yes, they are carrying small blue chamois cloths to polish fingerprints off of the display units. Frequently.

TUAWInside the 5th Ave Store & some retail tidbits originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 03 Apr 2010 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPad – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPhone – Fifth Avenue

Filed under: iPad

If there’s a breakout game for the iPad already, it’s probably Flight Control HD — the game was announced a while ago (we talked about it with Firemint back at GDC), but the title has stayed in the top 10 pretty consistently since the iPad’s App Store went live yesterday. Firemint has finally dropped the embargo on the title this morning, and you can see the game above — it’s basically the same game as the iPhone version, except bigger, clearer, and with a little more space for the plane-landing chaos. That allows for a few new gameplay variations, including co-op multiplayer on the same iPad, a split-screen versus mode, new bigger airfields (and a Snow airfield with variable wind direction), and one more interesting little feature: 3D.

Yes, Flight Control HD has an anaglyphic image effect going on with one of the airfields. You’ll have to procure your own red/cyan 3D glasses, but when you choose that map with glasses on, you’ll be able to see planes flying around in full depth illusion. We haven’t been able to play the mode yet, but Firemint did sent out some groovy glasses, so we can be ready when the iPad shows up.

Flight Control HD is live in the App Store right now, and on everyone’s iPad this weekend. As launch hits go, Apple’s doing pretty well with Firemint’s iPhone classic.

TUAWFlight Control HD live on the iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Firemint – AppStore – Flight Control – IPad

Starting today, you can buy a new iPad at your favorite Apple Retail Store or order from the Apple Online Store and have it delivered free to your door. You can also shop the App Store, with more than a thousand apps designed specifically for iPad, including the iWork productivity apps — Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. Or download the free iBooks app to browse thousands of new books at the iBookstore.

Filed under: iPad

Embargoes on every app in the iPad’s app store broke this morning, and there’s almost too many new iPad apps to write about. But worry not, dear readers — we’ve sifted through the flood of press releases in the inbox this morning, and we’re here to bring you the brightest and best iPad app news we’ve heard so far.

• Board game maker Days of Wonder is releasing Small World, a virtual board game for the iPad, for just US$5.
• Telltale Games craftily dodged telling us about any development for the iPhone or the iPad at Macworld this year, but they’ve gone ahead and released the latest episode of Sam and Max on the platform anyway, as a $10 app.
• SugarSync has released a version of their remote data sharing app for free on the iPad.
• Diner Dash has gone “HD” with Diner Dash: Grilling Green, a new $5 version of the game “designed from the ground up exclusively for the iPad.”
• See Here Studios has a 3D storybook called The Wrong Side of the Bed available for $2.99. You’ll need red/cyan glasses, but you can actually order them (with free shipping in the US) inside the app itself.
• Chillingo has launched a lineup of fourteen different apps (which is probably the most we’ve seen from any single company so far) including Cogs HD, Minigore HD, and Sword of Fargoal Legends. Impressive launch lineup.
• Zen Bound 2 has finally arrived as an iPad app — it features those revamped graphics for $7.99 on the new device.
• Freeverse has four different apps running, including Flick Fishing HD and their new game CastleCraft, a freemium MMO.
• Smule has released Magic Piano, a virtual piano/game/musical experience that’s launching for $2.99.

Lots (and we mean lots) more iPad app releases after the break. What a launch lineup this thing has!

TUAWTons of iPad app releases on the App Store now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – App Store – IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Freeverse

In a detailed review of iPad, Walt Mossberg (allthingsd.com) writes: “After spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop.”

Writing in USA Today, reviewer Edward C. Baig observes: “The iPad is not so much about what you can do — browse, do e-mail, play games, read e-books and more — but how you can do it. That’s where Apple is rewriting the rulebook for mainstream computing.”

FileMaker, Inc. today announced the immediate availability of its Bento App for iPad on the App Store. The app is based on Bento for iPhone with enhancements to make the most of the big, beautiful iPad screen. The new app enables users to manage contacts, track projects, plan events and more, and can be used by itself or synchronized with Bento 3 for Mac.

Filed under: iPad

TUAWiPad apps now live in the store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPad – Apple – iTunes

Filed under: iPad

No date, no forecast, but it’s a work in progress: in a story about the profit prospects for Hulu, the New York Times mentions that four sources familiar with the site’s plans say there is a Hulu app in the works. This was rumored back in February, but the expectation was that the app would launch with the iPad… doesn’t look like it will, at this point.

The possibility mentioned is that the app will come along with some sort of subscription plan for television content, which would be both irksome to existing Hulu fans who love the (free) website, and potentially get a scornful eyebrow from the App Store poobahs for stealing fire from the iTunes television show business.

We’ve been hoping for a Hulu app for the iPhone for a long time, but there’s no discussion of that in the current NYT story. Shame, too, as it was supposedly coming “within a few months” just about a year ago.

[via Engadget]

TUAWHulu coming to iPad… sometime, eventually originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppStore – iPhone – Apple – IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Writing in Time Magazine, Stephen Fry describes his first interaction with iPad: “I had been prepared for a smooth feel, for a bright screen and the ‘immersive’ experience everyone had promised. I was not prepared, though, for how instant the relationship I formed with the device would be.”

Filed under: iTunes

When our mailbox explodes, you know an Apple release has come out — and today has proven no different as iTunes updates to version 9.1, introducing many features that are compatible with the iPad including:

• iPad syncing
• Organizing and syncing books downloaded from iBooks
• Rename, rearrange or remove Genius Mixes

All of those features were predicted yesterday, but it’s nice to see them up and running in the application officially. iTunes 9.1 is available now via Software Update. We’re ready for the iPad — bring it on!

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

TUAWiTunes updates to 9.1, adds syncing for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – ITunes – IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IBooks