Iphone Updates

Filed under: Apple

Hardmac is reporting that Apple’s market share in Europe has risen to 6.8%. That’s not quite as high as the around 10% share for computers in the US, but it is a full two percentage points higher than it was last year. Windows still dominates in the EU, with 92% of all computers running some variation of it. Most of the growth in Europe has come from OS X Intel computers, but the iPhone and the iPod touch have contributed about half a percentage point as well (not to mention that interest in the iPhone almost certainly drove some Mac purchases, even if we can’t see that directly in the data).

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the iPad release this weekend; while Microsoft’s Windows clearly has a solid grasp on the market, you have to think that the iPad will probably put a dent in some of their sales, especially netbooks and even some notebooks. In another year from now, Europe may be on pace to match up with the US share soon.

TUAWApple market share climbs to 6.8% in Europe originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 27 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Apple – Microsoft – IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Apple today announced that iPad sales have topped two million in less than 60 days since its launch on April 3. “Customers around the world are experiencing the magic of iPad, and seem to be loving it as much as we do,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We appreciate their patience, and are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.”

Filed under: iPad

This is what e-magazines should have always been. A sparkling layout, embedded animations, video and audio. Compared to what Wired has done, the other magazines offered, like Time and Popular Science, feel pretty much like tarted up PDF files.

Adobe created the translation for the iPad for Conde Nast, publisher of Wired. Originally, it was going to be Flash based, but when Steve Jobs put the clamps on that, Adobe re-did everything in Apple-approved Objective-C.

Wired for iPad, released today, is a dazzler. There are 3D renderings you control by moving your hand, videos that look crisp, and some interactive features that are very helpful in getting a full understanding of the subject matter. I especially enjoyed the tour of the Mars missions, the tribute to the Industrial Light and Magic special effects factory, and the interactive view of what is inside Worcestershire sauce. Many of the ads are interactive as well, finally giving readers a reason to learn more about a product.

TUAWWired does a first iPad edition: It rocks, but costs too much originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 26 May 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – IPad – Wired – Adobe Systems – Steve Jobs

Filed under: iPad

There’s good news for iPad customers in Australia. Vodafone announced today that they will offer an unlimited data plan for the iPad 3G. Here’s the deal: For AUS$49.95 (approximately US$41 as of this writing) per month, users can enjoy unlimited data. Not bad!

The rest of their plans have been published, too. They start at AUD9.95 per month for 250MB of data (you’ll eat through that in no time) and go from there. Note that, in addition to the unlimited plan, customers can get 6GB of data for $100 expiring every 180 days, or 12GB for $150, expiring every 365 days.

The terms and conditions note that you can’t use data to make use of peer-to-peer services. It sounds like a good deal for our friends down under. Enjoy your new iPads!

[Via iPad Watcher]

TUAWVodafone Australia will offer unlimited data plan for iPads originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 26 May 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPad – Australia – Unofficial Apple Weblog – 3G – Apple

Filed under: Gaming

The always impressive folks at Valve have released the trailer above, which will be familiar if you’ve ever seen a very popular Apple commercial before. And at the end, you’ll also see why they’ve done this: Half Life 2 is coming to the Mac tomorrow, May 26, 2010.

That’s pretty much all we have to say — the first-person shooter is one of the best-reviewed and best-selling games of all time, and it’ll be running natively on the Mac thanks to the Steam for Mac release from a few weeks ago. If you’ve never played Half-Life 2, you’re in for a treat, even if you never played the classic first title in the series. We haven’t yet heard about a price (the PC version is currently at $20, though Valve has a history of dropping prices unexpectedly — Portal was free for its Mac release), and while a few outlets are saying the two episodic followups to the game will be out tomorrow as well, we don’t yet know that for sure. Stay tuned, as one of the biggest classics in PC gaming finally arrives on the Mac.

TUAWHalf Life 2 out on Mac tomorrow originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 25 May 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Macintosh – Apple – Half Life 2 – Steam – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: iPad

Just two days after Apple began accepting pre-orders for iPad from the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy on May 10th, they changed the ship date from May 28th to June 7th. Those who ordered on the 10th or 11th could expect their iPads to arrive on May 28th. The rest would have to wait until June 7th. Today, it looks like that date has changed again.

A quick glance at several international online Apple Stores (Canada and the UK for example) reveals that “June 7th” has been changed to simply “June.” Shortages in the US have been regularly reported over the last week, perhaps as supplies are diverted to international customers. Even so, it appears that Apple is having trouble keeping up.

Meanwhile, we’re hearing from eager customers all over Europe and Canada (who ordered early) that their shipping notifications have been triggered. Some Italian buyers apparently already have their iPad in hand. Also, the iBooks app is now reportedly appearing in the UK iTunes App Store.

If you’re outside the US, UK, and Canada, what does your country’s store say? Have you heard anything from Apple Store employees? Let us know.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

TUAWInternational iPad shipping dates changed again? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 25 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPad – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Canada – Australia

Filed under: Odds and ends, UNIX / BSD

I’ve been on a bit of a Hazel kick lately. I wrote a short shell script that will sort my Crash Logs.

#!/bin/sh 

### Get the name of the app
APP=`/bin/echo $1 | /usr/bin/sed 's#_.*##g'` 

### make a directory
/bin/mkdir -p "$APP" 

### move the log into the directory
/bin/mv -n "$1" "$APP" 

### done!
exit 0 

Add this rule to the folder ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports. The rules above tell Hazel to only run on crash logs older than today, in case you need to do anything with it such as send it to the developer.

UPDATE: Note that the developer of Hazel left a comment below showing how to do this without a script.

TUAWSort your crashlogs with Hazel originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unix – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Shell script – Berkeley Software Distribution – Operating system

Filed under: Found Footage, iPad

When space-age technology meets magical and revolutionary, the results are quite delightful. Jesse Rosten produced this video combining his love of the iPad with the power of everyone’s favorite hook-and-loop fastener, and I have to say it’s a sticky combination.

Jesse notes that this is an exploration of what’s possible, not a recommendation for every iPad owner. I’m not sure I would trust Velcro to hold my iPad solidly in a moving vehicle, but certainly the window or photoframe applications would work pretty well.

Thanks Flint!

TUAWFound Footage: The great taste of iPad with the delicious crunch of Velcro originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 22 May 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Found Footage – Technology – Velcro

Filed under: Retail

A tipster sends news that we’re closer than ever to the opening of the new Apple Store in Chicago, at the intersection of North and Halsted. We first heard about this store just over a year ago, and since then, we’ve heard that Apple’s made a significant investment in the project, beefing up the burgeoning retail area just above the Red Line stop there. Construction is well underway, and now our tipster tells us that the opening is set for sometime during July or August of this year.

The store is working on hiring right now; while some of the management will be brought in from other stores in the area, we’re told that they plan to hire about 160 employees to start, including Geniuses, Specialists, and everything else. Of course, these dates aren’t set in stone — the store will likely open when it’s good and ready. But we’re told that the staff should be trained and ready and in the store about a week before it opens, so once that is worked out, they’ll be good to go.

And sure enough, the jobs page over at Apple says that they are hiring at the “Lincoln Park” store now. Having lived in the area for a while, I’d actually call that intersection part of the Clybourn Corridor. Apple wants the name recognition of the primo neighborhood, though, so the Lincoln Park Apple Store it is.

TUAWRumor: Chicago’s North/Halsted Apple Store opening this July originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 22 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppleStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – Red Line – Lincoln Park

If you’re a college student or a faculty or staff member at any grade level and you buy a new Mac with Apple education pricing from May 25 through September 7, 2010, you can get a free 8GB iPod touch.

Beginning Friday, May 28, at 8 a.m. (local time), customers can buy iPad at their favorite Apple Retail Store in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, or the UK and get free Personal Setup.

Students who download a free 30-day trial of Bento 3 for Mac by Filemaker also receive The Bento 3 Student Survival Kit, a set of ready-to-use templates for organizing lecture notes, group projects, special events, classes, and job searching.

Filed under: iPhone

This is what my iPhone looks like right now. No, it’s not because iTunes went crazy and deleted all my apps. I’m trying to figure out which apps I actually use.

I’ve downloaded over 150 apps from the App Store. Of those 150, I have roughly 100 of them still in iTunes. I’ve tried grouping them using springboard pages, but I find it frustrating because I don’t usually have 12 related apps. (I’m really looking forward to Folders in iPhone OS 4.)

Here’s how I have been organizing my pages:

Page 1 and 2: anything app I use a lot or that may pop up a “badge” that I want to see.

Everything else: launch using search.

Here’s the thing: I’ve gotten used to putting some apps on page 1 or 2 because I think I’m going to use them. The Phone app? I finally moved it off my Dock, but I left it on Page 1, even though I bet it’s one of the apps that I actually use far less frequently than others.

Read on for more…

Update: A hat tip to Patrick Rhone’s MinimalMac, where a version of this experiment appeared in January.

TUAWStarting from zero on the iPhone home screen originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 21 May 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppStore – iPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – iTunes

Filed under: iPad

On May 28th, the iPad begins shipping in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, at last rewarding customers who’ve been waiting longer than expected. Speaking of waiting, international access to the iPad App Store is available today, but with limited functionality.

Italian website ipadevice has posted screenshots of the Italian iPad App Store (English translation here). It’s mostly functional, displaying new apps and rating charts. The books section is still unfinished, and Apple’s iWork and iBooks apps are still unlisted, though an international customer can still download iBooks with an American account.

Note that the “iPad App Store” isn’t a separate entity, but a presentation of the store’s offerings pushed to iPads that highlights iPad-optimized apps. If you’re outside of Italy and the US, can you gain access? Let us know.

[Via MacNN]

TUAWInternational iPad App Store opening early originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Retail

Patently Apple points out another Apple filing today, this time in reference to the retail stores. Specifically, Apple is looking to trademark the “distinctive design and layout” that they’ve cultivated since opening their first retail location in 2001. The filing provides two sketches — one in full color and the other in black-and-white — and a photo depicting the typical exterior and interior of Apple Stores.

On one hand, you’ve got to wonder exactly how “distinctive” a retail store’s interior can be. You’ve got counters, products, stools and a checkout/desk area. On the other hand, consider the fervor that accompanied the opening of the first Microsoft stores, which bear a striking resemblance to Apple’s outlets. Not that they’re targeting Microsoft specifically, but any company that would blatantly mimic their successful model.

I wonder if the trademark addresses the dancing.

[Via MacDailyNews]

TUAWApple to trademark distinctive retail store layout originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 19 May 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

The TUAW tip line has been ringing off the hook this morning, with not one, but two companies announcing iPad stands.

Many iPad owners are beginning to find that they want a way to have the iPad held in front of them, but not necessarily using their hands. Apple has not yet released the antigravity float pad for the iPad, so for the time being we’re seeing a lot of mounts and stands that have been designed to take the weight of the device out of your hands.

The first is the Stabile iPad stand from Thought Out. Made of 4 pounds of “solid American steel,” this stand looks like a take on the iMac / Cinema Display stand. It holds the iPad in either landscape or portrait orientation, and with the weight of the stand being concentrated in the bottom, the low center of gravity should keep this from tipping over regardless of how active the user’s interaction with the iPad becomes.

The Stabile stand is available for pre-order now at a price of US$59.99 for black and $69.99 for silver, and will ship in June.

TUAWA pair of iPad stands heading your way soon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 19 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone

What don’t we know about the 4G iPhone at this point? This must be how clairvoyants feel on Christmas Eve. Taiwanese site Apple.pro compounds the letdown* by posting pictures of what appears to be a white iPhone faceplate. The holes for the speaker and front-facing camera that we’re all expecting identify it as the front plate. There seems to be a small slit above the speaker slot, but that’s probably to accommodate the ambient light sensor.

Currently, white iPhone models still have a black casing on the back. It looks like the new model will be white in front and back.

At this point, the 4G iPhone will have to sing “Hello My Baby” to surprise us, and that’s too bad. Don’t you miss the anticipation that used to precede these announcements? I sure do. Call me old fashioned.

*For a real treat, check out what Google Translate did to that post.

[Via MacRumors]

TUAWRumor: White faceplate for the 4G iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 19 May 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple

I recently faced an audio/video problem with my MacBook. I subscribed to the great MLB.TV service so that I could watch my Cubs games out here in Los Angeles. However, instead of just watching them on my MacBook, I wanted to actually watch them on my HDTV. My first solution was to go get a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, but there was an issue; I would have had to figure out some way to hook up the audio since MacBooks, before yesterday’s update, only output video over the DisplayPort. Audio would have needed to come through the headphones or the USB port separately.

Fortunately, that problem is now fixed for new buyers; the most recent MacBooks, according to this support document from Apple, will send both audio and video out through HDMI as long as you’ve got a VESA compliant adapter (which most DisplayPort adapters are). Of course, I’d need to buy a new MacBook (which is much more expensive than just figuring out an audio solution), but at least the issue is fixed on the latest hardware.

My eventual solution? I was saved by Sony, of all companies. MLB released a free app on the PlayStation 3 (which I have hooked up to my TV via HDMI as well) that lets me watch my subscription without the computer. That leaves my MacBook open for other tasks, like blogging, while I watch the game. Let’s go Cubs!

[via MacRumors]

TUAWNew MacBooks support audio and video out of Mini DisplayPort originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 19 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mini DisplayPort – Apple – HDMI – Unofficial Apple Weblog – PlayStation 3

Filed under: iPad

So far, we’ve seen a car, a helicopter, and even a Dalek controlled by an Apple device, so here’s another form of transportation: a blimp, this time controlled by an iPad. Bonus points for making the video interesting and fun, too — we get a well-edited and shot video montage of how the iPad got hooked up via code to a blimp, equipped with a propeller, a camera, and even some lights. The blimp is actually a “Blimpduino,” a low-cost open source blimp design connected to an arduino controller. This blimp’s controller is connected to an iPad’s accelerometer, so tilting the iPad determines the blimp’s movement.

Plus, it looks like they even threw in some basic augmented reality through the camera, too, just for the heck of it. Very cool. Speaking of augmented reality, Yelp’s Ben Newhouse suggested a while back that the relatively inexpensive iPad could be used for all sorts of tasks that previously required much more specialized computers, and something like this proves that the iPad makes an excellent and cheap touchscreen and accelerometer-based interface for any kind of remote control. I don’t know if we’ll be flying real blimps with iPads in the future, but any sort of remote interface could definitely make use of a quick app that hooks up our actions to mechanics on the other end.

[via MacStories]

TUAWOpen source video blimp controlled by an iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 18 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – Open source – Accelerometer

Filed under: iPad

It’s no secret that the iPad is popular with pilots. TUAW has provided coverage of pilot kneeboards for holding iPads in the cockpit, many iPhone apps for pilots that are now making their way to the big(ger) screen, and we’ve heard from commenters who fly for a living that they think the iPad may be the greatest thing to appear in the cockpit since Charlton Heston.

One British firm is now starting to use iPads as electronic flight bags, although not on “real” aircraft. The company, Virtual Aviation, operates Airbus and Boeing full-motion flight simulators at London Heathrow and Gatwick airports. While these expensive and realistic simulators are most often used for pilot training, Virtual Aviation also provides public experience flights and corporate team-building events.

With the iPad, Virtual Aviation instructors don’t have to lug around their heavy flight cases loaded with maps, charts, manuals, weather reports, flight plans, and checklists. The lightweight iPad displays all of the information. There are a number of photos of Virtual Aviation staff using the iPad to display charts and checklists in a gallery that they’ve published.

What about you? Do you think iPads can be an effective and useful tool for pilots, or are you concerned that they may be a distraction on the flight deck? Leave your comments below.

TUAWiPads on the virtual flight deck originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 May 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – London Heathrow Airport – London Gatwick Airport – Charlton Heston – Aviation

Filed under: iTunes

Since Apple acquired Lala back in December, we’ve wondered what its developers would do with their new purchase. Rumors suggest we’ll find out in a few weeks at WWDC. Macsimum news is reporting that a live streaming version of iTunes will debut at the conference.

Some have speculated that iTunes will move to a subscription model, but others don’t see it that way. Michael Robertson, former CEO of mp3.com, believes that Apple will create an “online locker” of your iTunes purchases. Once you buy a song or show or movie, it’s added to your online library for you to stream at will. That would be a great solution for users who currently have several space-hogging videos in their purchase history. Perhaps that’s what the North Carolina facility is for.

Personally, I’d welcome such a service with open arms. Even now, I play “video shuffle” with my iDevices, moving TV shows and movies back and forth as room and my interests change. How nice would it be to pull up any episode of BSG on any approved device without having to make room for it first? Very nice indeed.

TUAWRumor: iTunes online music streaming to debut at WWDC originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 14 May 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: App Store, iPad

iNet is incredibly handy. I needed a list of the MAC addresses of all of the devices on my network. It’s a fairly tedious process that requires a lot of copy and pasting and a lot of poking around in network settings. Then, I remembered I had iNet Pro on my iPhone. I fired it up, ran a scan, and then emailed myself a nicely-formatted report that listed all of the devices.

Later, my satellite Internet went down. Every couple of minutes, I launched iNet and had it run “ping” against www.google.com to see if the connection was back up. I’ve used it to see if my wife’s iPhone was on the network (a good way to see if she is awake) and to remember the static IP address of a network printer at my office.

iNet Pro can run port scans (offering a custom set of ports to check or letting you run your own) and show you a list of Bonjour services that are available for each computer. If you have any computers set to use Wake On Lan, iNet can send the necessary signal. I haven’t used that feature but Apple improved upon it in Snow Leopard and explains how to determine if your Mac supports Wake On Demand.

There are several versions of iNet available. The basic iNet Network Scanner is $0.99 (all prices USD) and iNet Pro is $4.99. The website includes a handy guide to the iNet and iNet Pro Feature List (PDF), which explains the differences. You can upgrade from iNet to iNet Pro as a $3.99 in-app purchase, so if you aren’t sure that you need everything the Pro version does, you can start small without worrying that you’re going to cost yourself more by not buying the Pro version right away.

The developer also offers iNet Wake On Lan (WOL) and iNet Portscan, each for $1.99. It’s important to note, though, that iNet Pro contains both WOL and Portscan capabilities. If you really only need those particular features, you can save a couple of dollars by purchasing only what you need. However, the Pro version is still only $5.

TUAWiNet Pro is a handy network utility for your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 14 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – AppStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – IPad

Filed under: iPad

iWork users rejoice! Apple is updating Pages, Numbers and Keynote for the iPad. A quick check at the app store or through iTunes should get you all sparkly and new.

In Pages, one of the big fixes is that the tool and ruler and now available in Landscape view. That’s a biggy because you had to be in portrait view to see any of those tools in version 1.0.

Apple has also added some additional language support in the apps, and done some work to get better compatibility with Microsoft Word documents. Here’s the details for all the updated apps, which appear to have fixed some of the worst complaints people had.

TUAWApple updates the iWork suite for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 May 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Keltis is a relatively new marquee family of board games – in Europe, at least – with a somewhat meandering history. The series started as the Lost Cities card game, which evolved into the original board game in the series, Keltis. That game won the Spiel des Jahres, Germany’s highest board game honor, in 2008. Since then, there have been two expansions: a card game version (different from the original Lost Cities card game) and, most recently, a new board game called Keltis Oracle. U.S. board gamers will most likely recognize the Keltis games in the similar Lost Cities: The Board Game. Are you wondering why the European version of the game made it into your iDevice? Because the developers in Tribeflame are based in Finland.

In any case, the universal app (US$4.99) that’s now available on the iPad and iPhone (and iPod touch) is the latest Keltis game. Is it the greatest? To some, maybe. It’s certainly the most player-friendly of the batch, and it looks good on the iPad screen. The game works, but as you can see in the galleries below, it’s crowded when packed into the iPhone’s 480 x 320 pixel screen. Read on to see what the Oracle can do for you.

TUAWReview: Keltis Oracle is a great, light strategic board game for iPad, iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone – Apple – IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Board game

Filed under: MobileMe

An eagle-eyed reader spotted something new on his MobileMe account after the completed maintenance this evening — an invitation to join a “mail beta” for MobileMe.

What is this? We originally thought it could possibly be linked into the rumors that MobileMe may soon be free, but reader Beau quickly pointed us to a news post from Apple detailing a new MobileMe Mail beta application.

Features include:

• The ability to have both widescreen and compact views.
• Rules to help keep mail organized on any device you use MobileMe. Note that any rules set up on the beta may override rules already in place on OS X Mail, so disable duplicate rules on your Mac before giving this a test drive.
• Single-click archiving of e-mail.
• Formatting toolbar including the ability to shorten long URLs.
• Improved performance for MobileMe Mail through me.com.
• SSL security no matter where you access your MobileMe Mail.

The beta will work best with Safari 4, Firefox 3.6, and Internet Explorer 8. Additional information can be found on this support page. To get an invitation, sign into your MobileMe account through me.com and you’ll see the invite in the bottom left corner. Please note that the beta is only available to English-language users of MobileMe at this time.

Thanks to Moses for the tip!

TUAWApple issuing invitations for MobileMe Mail beta originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 May 2010 02:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – MobileMe – Mail – Macintosh

Filed under: iPhone

You’re a young pitcher for the San Diego Padres, it’s early in the morning, and you’re not feeling good. In fact, you feel awful. So what do you do? Pick up your iPhone, point Safari at WebMD.com, punch in your symptoms, and self-diagnose yourself as having appendicitis. Next step? You call the team trainer at 3:15 AM, who does a quick examination and tells you to get to the hospital ASAP. A few hours later, your appendix is gone via a laparoscopic appendectomy, and you’re on the DL for a month or so.

It sounds like a script for a bad baseball movie, but it actually happened to Padres pitcher Tim Stauffer yesterday morning. He was able to take a taxi to a hospital in San Diego, where the staff confirmed his diagnosis and immediately scheduled him for surgery.

This isn’t the first time an iPhone has helped someone save their own life — in January, a survivor of the Haiti earthquake used several medical apps to keep himself alive while awaiting rescue.

It will be fun to see if Apple will be able to work this into an iPhone ad. “Self-diagnosing appendicitis? There’s an app for that!”

TUAWPadres pitcher uses iPhone to self-diagnose appendicitis originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 May 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – iPhone – Apple – San Diego Padres – Haiti

Filed under: iPad

Since launch, iPad users have complained of issues with the Wi-Fi dropping out or fading. These problems were often fixed by solutions as weird as just raising and lowering the display brightness settings. Originally, Apple said the issue was probably with problem routers and crossed signals, but now they’ve fessed up that it seems to be a software problem, and a software fix is on the way.

We don’t know when the software update will happen, of course, but Tuesdays are a good guess for the next few weeks. Hopefully we’ll see a fix soon for beleaguered iPad owners still dealing with the problem. Strangely enough, Apple also admits that changing the brightness may actually help the problem. We originally scoffed at that one, since it sounded pretty hokey, but maybe voltages or code got mixed up somewhere, and that’s what the software update is designed to fix.

[via Engadget]

TUAWApple promising fix for iPad Wi-Fi originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 May 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – IPad – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Wi-Fi – Engadget

Behind the scenes at Quintessa Winery in Napa Valley, California, iPhone is helping staff track vineyard data, craft elegant presentations, and bring the beauty of the estate to their customers.

Filed under: Internet

I refer to my calendar a lot during the day, but I don’t always have my calendar program running. Most of the time I just want to glance at something to confirm the time/date of an upcoming event, or just double check a date: “What is the last Sunday in May? Oh right, the 30th.”

It occurred to me today that I could make life a little easier if I could have my calendar embedded in my Desktop. Those of you who remember Microsoft Windows’ “Active Desktop” feature may shudder in fear at the idea because, at least in my experience, Active Desktop was a complete and utter disaster. It never worked well, if you could get it to work at all.

There are extremely geeky ways of doing this but MacOSXHints.com had a simple solution I didn’t even know was possible: Fluid.app. Now I’ve used Fluid.app for a long time, but I never knew what the “Embedded SSB” or “MenuExtra SSB” actually did. Turns out that either of them are a potential solution, not just for calendars, but for any web page.

[Editor's Note: Fluid just recently went open source, and though the blog hasn't been updated yet, we're told the SSB creator is now open source as well.]

TUAWFluid lets you embed webpages as your desktop or in menu bar originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 May 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Open source – Microsoft – Fluid – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: iPad

Although we’re tempted to write a cute folksy post full of “G’day”, “Mate”, and “Wombat”, we will refrain from the obvious. After all, we have too big a debt of gratitude to Australia (from the Wiggles to John Noble to Violet Crumble) to go that route. So, keeping it simple, here’s a simple update that the Australian online Apple Store has gone offline, most likely in preparation for iPad preorders.

So keep your eyes open and let us know what you see when the store comes back.

One more thing: Aussie Aussie iPad! Oi oi oi!^[1]

^[1]We couldn’t help ourselves there. Sorry. We just love Australia! (Update: Yes, the link is correct. Read the post in re the Australian connection.)

Update: The store is back up. The iPad pre-order page still says: “Coming late May, Pre-order on 10 May.”

Update: Australians can now pre-order iPads, starting at A$629, approximately $560 in US currency. The highest end 64 GB 3G model retails for $1049 ($932)

To obtain 3G service, Australians are told to purchase a 3G iPad, and then contact a carrier that offers iPad data plans to obtain a microSIM card.

TUAWThe Australian Store is back up — and iPads are ready for pre-order originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 09 May 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Australia – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPad – Apple – Oceania

Filed under: iPad

They may have a hung parliament in the UK, but at least they know what to do about iPad data plan pricing.

Fast on the heels of Apple’s announcement of iPad availability in a number of international locales, we’ve heard from Orange UK about what they’ll be charging iPad Wi-Fi + 3G owners for data plans in the UK.

First and foremost is a “pay for what you use” data plan charging 5p per MB of usage each month up to £40 per month (about US$60 at current rates, a little bit more than the $29.95 “unlimited” plan available in the States). The small print says that this plan is subject to fair usage, meaning that you’re limited to 750 MB of usage on that plan — in other words, you’ll never get to that £40 maximum.

If you crave additional data, Orange has four optional bundles, all with an maximum allowed data consumption. The best plan appears to be the iPad Monthly 25, providing 10 GB of 3G data consumption plus unlimited browsing at BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots for £25 per month. A copy of the Orange UK pricing chart follows this post; click the Read More link below to view it.

Thanks to Joe for the tip!

TUAWOrange UK announces iPad Wi-Fi + 3G data plan pricing for UK originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

The video you see here was in my inbox this morning and I really liked what what I saw. IUGO, a long time player in the mobile entertainment arena, is in the process of releasing four new games for the iPad platform.

What made these games stand out for me was how well they leveraged the iPad hardware realities for both cooperative and competitive game play. Several of these games highlight multi-handed multi-player interaction on the same device. That’s a feature that’s specific to the iPad. The iPhone’s size doesn’t allow that kind of two player interaction, except through online game play with virtual opponents. What IUGO’s games are doing is expanding play from an iPhone-style one user at a time paradigm into a two-users-at-once iPad experience.

Read on for an exclusive discussion with IUGO Mobile Entertainment.

TUAWFirst look: New IUGO iPad games originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 May 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPad

How do old iPhone favorites hold up on the iPad? In our From iPhone to iPad series, TUAW revisits iPhone applications that have transitioned to the iPad. We look at their latest incarnations and see how the new measures up to the old. Today, TUAW looks at Star Walk.

I first encountered Star Walk last summer at an O’Reilly Foo Camp meet-up. “You want to see an app that really takes advantage of everything a 3GS can do?” asked one of the attendees. “Try Star Walk.” I dutifully scribbled down the name and, when I returned home, I picked up a copy at the App Store.

True to the advice, Star Walk really impressed. It’s a kind of “virtual window” application that you use at night. You look “through” the 3GS to the sky behind it and see a live view of the constellations the 3GS is pointing at. Move the 3GS down out of your field of view, and you see the real night sky. Move the 3GS back in front of you and it explains exactly what you’re looking at.

That’s because Star Walk was one of the first applications that took advantage of the iPhone 3GS’s built in magnetometer. The sensor that powers the onboard compass allows apps to retrieve magnetic north readings. Star Walk uses the magnetometer to determine which way you’re looking — not just your position. And it uses that bearing information to display the correct portion of the night sky.

TUAWFrom iPhone to iPad: Star Walk originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone

We’ve been spotlighting a lot of quick and easy action games in our Daily App feature lately, so here’s something a little more cerebral. Quaso is a new kind of Crossword-style puzzle game, except that instead of guessing words, you’re trying to figure out numbers in math equations. The game was created by an English mathematics teacher named John Enock, and has been brought to the iPhone by a developer as John Enock’s Quaso, now available on the App Store for free.

Here’s how it works. For every crossword line on the board, you’re given a set of math equations with the numbers missing. There’s one total number for every puzzle (say, 6), and then for each equation, you need to figure out how another set of numbers fits in to complete the clue and make the equation equal to the total number. In other words, given the clue (*+*) x (*-*), and the answer of 6, you’d eventually work out that the numbers should be (1+2) x (5-3), and then put 1, 2, 5, and 3 in each spot on the answer. But that answer line has to match up to any that it intersects with, so you may need to switch the numbers around — (2+1) instead of (1+2) — for it all to work.

It’s fiendishly clever, and it really puts your brain to work, especially if (like me) you’re not that great at casual math. But there are a ton of puzzles to work through, and then you can even buy a puzzle pack via in-app purchase for more. Especially at the current price of free, Quaso is a mathematical brain teaser that you shouldn’t miss.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: John Enock’s Quaso originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 06 May 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AppStore – iPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – Puzzle video game

Filed under: Found Footage, iPad

Adobe is showing off Android-based prototype tablets at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. Zedomax has a pretty gushing review of Flash’s performance on these tablets, calling it “rather incredible technology.” There’s no mention of how the battery life in these prototype tablets suffers while playing Flash video, though. In his “Thoughts on Flash,” Steve Jobs noted that using Flash on the iPhone effectively halves its battery life.

What’s far more interesting, and far more hilarious, is that although Zedomax claims Flash works “flawlessly” on these tablets, there’s certainly evidence to the contrary. In the video above, the Android tablet reviewer is showing off the Flash functionality. Just as he says, “Good thing I didn’t buy an iPad, because this one does Flash,” the browser crashes. “Whoops,” the reviewer says, gamely trying to carry on with his review in spite of the crash. [Never mind that he's demoing Flash by playing a YouTube video, which of course the iPad does just as well. -Ed.]

As an interesting side note, the same reviewer says that these Android tablets are “basically a giant Android phone.” So, if you hate the iPad because “it’s just a big iPod touch,” please remember that, in the interest of not sounding like a fanboy, you are obligated to hate the Android tablet (whenever it actually gets released) for the same reason.

[Via Daring Fireball]

TUAWFound footage: Android tablet prototype running (and crashing) Flash originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 05 May 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs – Apple – Adobe Systems – Android – IPhone

Apple today announced that iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK on Friday, May 28. Customers can pre-order all iPad models from the Apple Online Store in all nine countries beginning Monday, May 10.

Filed under: WIN Business

As we promised earlier today, TUAW TV Live is all about Macs this week. If you’ve been weary of all the talk about iPads and iPhones, we hope that today’s show will be a splash of refreshing and juicy Macness. We’ll be starting at around 5 PM EDT sharp, and all you need to do to watch or join in is follow these easy instructions.

To join in from your Mac or PC, just go to the next page by clicking the link at the bottom of this post, and you’ll find a live stream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to join in on the fun by asking questions or making comments.

If you’re driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you’re stuck in traffic, please don’t — keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application.

iPad users haven’t been forgotten, either, as you can tune in to TUAW TV Live on your iPad! That link will send yo to a non-Flash page, although you won’t have access to our chat tool.

TUAWTUAW TV Live: the all-Mac episode originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 05 May 2010 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PCMag.com reviews the 27-inch iMac, calling it “an excellent multimedia-oriented all-in-one desktop” computer and making it the Editors’ Choice in its class.

Filed under: iPhone

9to5Mac reports that new features have been added to the iPhone’s multitasking bar as of the release of iPhone OS 4 beta 3 earlier today. Swiping left from the multitasking bar now accesses a new set of controls. On the far left is an orientation lock, which disables the iPhone’s auto-switching between portrait and landscape orientation. This achieves via software the same thing as the iPad’s dedicated orientation lock hardware switch. It will make using the iPhone in a reclined position much easier; no longer will the iPhone switch between orientations seemingly at random as you’re catching up on e-mails just after waking up. And there was much rejoicing.

To the right of the orientation lock is a set of three controls for play/pause and track skipping in the iPod app, as well as a dedicated icon for the app itself. It seems likely this will replace the current “notification window” method for accessing iPod controls via a double-tap of the Home button.

Cool bit of functionality coming soon in the iPhone OS 4.0 release.

[Via MacRumors]

TUAWiPhone OS 4 beta 3 adds orientation lock, iPod controls to multitasking bar originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 04 May 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iTunes

Dear Aunt TUAW,

Darn it, my iPhone keeps re-installing my deleted apps every time I sync. Do you know how to make this stop happening? Is my iPhone possessed? I know I’m not alone. This is happening to other people too. Help!

Love and kissies,

Dave

Read on for Auntie’s response…

TUAWDear Aunt TUAW: Why won’t my apps stay deleted? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 03 May 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – iPhone 3G – iTunes – IPhone

Global IT consultancy Unisys provides critical security services to a select list of government agencies and multinational corporations. Now the company can deliver these leading-edge services with greater speed, reach, and flexibility than ever before, thanks to iPhone.

Filed under: iPhone

How does it work? Quite well actually. Here in Southern Arizona there is a lot of eye candy to see as we are surrounded by mountain ranges. I like Panorama View 3D better than flat maps and even the 3D view which most nav apps provide.

Of course, when you’re driving, you shouldn’t be staring at the pretty maps, but keeping your eyes on the road instead. At least the passengers can get entertained by Panorama View 3D.

Panorama View 3D is a U.S. $9.99 update to the Navigon app you already have. It currently works on the USA and Canada versions of Navigon MobileNavigator. It also reportedly works on the less expensive regional versions, but I was not able to test this. You purchase the Panorama View 3D module from the ‘Extras’ menu in the app.

I did notice that the map display seemed noticeably slower to respond, likely because of the greatly increased number of data points that have to be calculated and redrawn. I think it’s a good trade-off though, for a spiffier map and an almost real-world view of your surroundings.

Ultimately, buying this add-on depends on where you live and where you travel. If you’re mostly hanging around places like Omaha it doesn’t have much use. If, however, your traveling takes you to hill and dale, the Navigon Panorama view is a hot ticket.

TUAWDriving around with Navigon Panorama View 3D for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 01 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FileMaker, Inc. announced the latest FileMaker Business Productivity Kit, an easy way for businesses selling both goods and services to become more productive and tackle everyday business tasks. Optimized for FileMaker Pro 11, the new Business Productivity Kit offers ready-to-use templates for businesses that streamline a variety of operations.

Filed under: Apple

Patently Apple reports that Apple has picked up a major patent from the USPTO for a long list of mutitouch gestures. The gestures all involve moving two or more fingers on a multitouch surface, and cover everything from cut and copy shortcuts to global search and find and replace motions. I’m sure creative types could probably come up with at least a few other ways to ways to move your fingers on a surface, but this one’s pretty far-reaching. PA also notes that almost all of these gestures were picked up by Apple as part of their Fingerworks purchase — while (as far as I know) not all of these gestures eventually made it to the iPad, we can probably expect to see them show up in the future.

Also picked up from the USPTO includes a patent for adjusting the tempo of music played by an iPod, possibly even according to some body metric (like putting a strap on your arm to measure your pulse by using Nike+), one patent for antenna structure, and a few different patents dealing with digital files and folders. As always, just the fact that Apple is patenting these ideas doesn’t ever mean that we’ll for sure see them in future updates of software or hardware. But watching these patents is a good way to keep an eye on what’s coming out of Apple’s R&D departments.

TUAWApple patents multitouch gestures originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Patent – United States Patent and Trademark Office – Patently Apple

Reporting on Apple’s announcement that it sold its one millionth iPad just 28 days after the product’s introduction, Jim Goldman (cnbc.com) notes: “iPad reached the sales milestone far quicker than the company’s iPhone, which took nearly three months to sell 1 million units.” Goldman concludes: “All of this data seems to bode well for Apple.”

Starting today, you can buy the magical and revolutionary iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G at your favorite Apple Retail Store or from the Apple Online Store with free delivery to your door.

In a statement today on Apple.com, Apple CEO Steve Jobs described the company’s position on Flash: “I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads.”

Apple today announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 7 through June 11 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. The five-day conference includes the first ever iPad development sessions and hands-on working labs for iPhone OS 4, as well as Mac OS X core technology labs.

With its new Popular Science+ app for iPad, publisher Bonnier is changing the way we interact with and experience magazine content. It’s the first example of a new concept they call Mag+ that takes full advantage of Multi-Touch technology on the iPad.

Reviewer Mike Prospero (Laptopmag.com) makes the “drastically” improved 13-inch MacBook Pro an Editors’ Choice (4/5 stars), concluding that it “offers the best combination of performance, endurance, design, and smart software.”