Jul 2, 2009 Friday July 3, 2009
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MacOSG: How to monitor iPhone/iPod touch power consumption
Posted by Dave MertenToday I'm going to show you a way to monitor the power consumption of your iPhone/iPod touch running the OS 3.0 software. This can be used to troubleshoot the draining of an iPhone/iPod touch's battery. A lot of new iPhone 3G S models are overheating, and monitoring power consumption may...
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Latest iPhone TV ad highlights video editing
Filed under: iPhone If there's one thing Apple wants you to know about the iPhone 3GS, it's that this is the device to get for mobile video. Witness the latest TV ad for the new phone, "Skateboard": it could hardly look easier to shoot, trim and email your clips from the neigborhood skate park.The ad is airing now, and continues the feature-focused ad series for the 3GS that started with Copy & Paste and Voice Control. It's a shame they can't do ads for Tethering & MMS, or Cooking An Egg.Side note: does it seem weird to anyone else that the "Itchy" ad features a compass app (Tommy Westerberg's Compass Go) that came out prior to the release of the 3GS?Thanks Chris F.TUAWLatest iPhone TV ad highlights video editing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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eMedia Music to distribute Guitar Lab instructional DVDs
Posted by Dennis SellerseMedia Music Corp. has announced an agreement for eMedia to distribute the new Guitar Lab series of guitar instruction DVDs. Lesson content and learning tools are powered by TrueFire.
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iPhone 3GS prototype scooped up at airport, now on eBay
Seriously folks, what's up with these prototype iPhones falling out of nondescript white vans and ending up on eBay in the shadiest of manners? Just months after we saw an original iPhone prototype (ancient OS included) pop up on The 'Bay, now we've got one of the world's first iPhone 3GSs on there as well. According to the highly ranked eBay seller, the "guy" he "got it from" actually stumbled upon it at an airport, and rather than doing the nonsensical thing of hitting up lost and found, he decided to make the most of the sudden opportunity. According to the new owner, an Apple Genius has confirmed that it is an iPhone 3GS, but due to its prototype nature, they can't help him get past the "Connect to iTunes" screen. In other words, it's an incredibly rare brick. If that sounds like just the thing to complete your collection, you can visit the road to overpaying through the read link below.[Via ElectricPig]Filed under: CellphonesiPhone 3GS prototype scooped up at airport, now on eBay originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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âEdgeâ Is Back in the U.S. and U.K. App Stores
Remember Edge, the iPhone game that was forced out of the U.S. and U.K. App Stores after some jackass claimed a copyright on the word “Edge”? Well, Edge is back. I bought it last night and I highly recommend it, as does my five-year-old son. Very fun. â
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Developer-to-developer: application sharing for the iPhone simulator
Filed under: iPod Family, Developer, iPhone, SDKLast week, TUAW showed you how to sign iPhone applications for informal developer-to-developer distribution. That approach lets you share applications between members of the iPhone developer program by using your signing credentials to authorize the application for use on your development units. iPhone applications compiled for the Intel-based simulator can also be shared between developers. And, since the free developer program offers access to the simulator, the apps can be distributed even more widely than with the re-signing approach. Simulator testing does not offer the full suite of device-specific capabilities. You cannot simulate the onboard camera or retrieve proper accelerometer feedback. The simulator does not vibrate or provide general multitouch input. (You can pinch, but that's about it.) The strength of simulator-based distribution is that it lets you send out applications for early testing and feedback. Sim-only tests strengthen the preliminary design process; this approach helps solicit feedback on user interface and general program layout before the main development push gets underway. Simulator-based apps are easy to transfer and easy to use, cutting out a layer of overhead that's needed for when you go to a full ad-hoc beta. To distribute a simulator application, go to the Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/User/Applications/ folder in your home directory. There you'll find the application sandbox folders that are currently installed for your simulator. Each folder is named with a unique id (i.e. 56E66CE5...DC028F) that does not reflect the folder's contents. You'll have to peek inside to determine which folder is which.The folder contains the application, and three sandbox directories: tmp, Library, and Documents. To share a simulator folder compiled for 2.2.1 and earlier, you must zip up both the folder with the application and the .sb (sandbox) file that shares the same name as the folder. 3.0 and later applications do not use a .sb file. Just zip up and share the folder. Install the shared app by decompressing its sandbox folder (and, for 2.x, its .sb file). The recipient must have installed the iPhone SDK. Drop it into the simulator's Applications folder on another machine and launch the simulator. The app should appear in the simulator, ready for testing.TUAWDeveloper-to-developer: application sharing for the iPhone simulator originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Windows 7 Pricing vs. Mac OS X: Why Even Go There?
Windows 7 pricing was made official not long ago, and the general consensus is that, despite a slight drop in Home Premium pricing compared to Vista, itâs too expensive. Still, there are some in the Microsoft community that try to justify it by comparing it to Appleâs pricing for Mac OS X. Microsoft can never win this game. Heck, Microsoft never even gets in this game. And yet, you have folks like Ed Bott at ZDNet giving it a shot. Hereâs his latest salvo: In two recent posts… I took a closer look at the differences between Windows 7 editions and their counterparts from Apple. Thatâs from the first sentence, and already the article is off to a misguided start. There are no âcounterparts from Appleâ to Windowsâ OS Editions. Every Mac OS X sold is — to use Microsoftâs terminology — Ultimate. Letâs keep that point in mind. In previous posts, Bott had taken some criticism because Apple offered a Family Pack, something Microsoft would not talk about for Windows 7. But now he thinks Microsoft has beat (or is at least competitive with) Apple there. He supplies a partial screenshot of the license agreement for Windows 7, and then clarifies it with this: If you canât read the screen shot, hereâs the relevant section: âIf you are a âQualified Family Pack Userâ, you may install one copy of the software marked as âFamily Packâ on three computers in your household for use by people who reside there.â Bott seems pretty excited about this. To his credit, I appreciate that he understands a Family Pack is not a particular luxury any more. There are simply too many households with multiple PCs. Microsoft is still silent on the issue, so Bott has to speculate: Iâm going to go out on a limb and predict that Microsoft prices the Family Pack at $189, which is $10 less than Appleâs Family Pack (although Appleâs license is good for five Macs in a single household). I appreciate that Bott points out five licenses are greater than three. However, to do so parenthetically minimizes that five licenses is a lot more than three. Itâs 66 percent more, to be precise. Based on Bottâs price guess, it means youâre getting two additional licenses for ten bucks! Iâd say italics and bold were called for more than parenthesis. Further, Bott again ignores that Mac OS X licenses are Ultimate, not two notches below that in the form of Home Premium. (Bottâs tack regarding the whole Professional and Ultimate thing is to simply claim you donât need them, doing so with a cheesy marketing checklist of cherry-picked OS âfeaturesâ.) The biggest fact Bott ignores — and I played along, because Apple wins anyway — is that Snow Leopard will be $29, and the Family Pack $49, for users of Appleâs current OS. Even if youâre using an older Mac OS, Apple offers a sweet deal via a boxed set containing Snow Leopard, iLife, and iWork for just $169. Throwing in the latest iLife and iWork is a major plus since Leopard and Snow Leopard have features the latest âiâ versions can take advantage of. Finally, the above great pricing is not âspecial,â or âpre-order,â or âlimited time,â or âmail-in rebate,â it's simply The Pricing. I think itâs time to get Lauren and have a series of âOS Hunterâ ads. âHmm, this OS is $29 and contains all these great features, this one is $120 and is two steps down…â Market research you can use: Keep informed about Cloud Computing and IT Infrastructure. Learn more ť
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BagAmp portable amplifier system announced
Posted by Dennis SellersCollins America has announced its new portable amplifier system, the BagAmp. The composite enclosure vertical line array self-amplified system uses eight Audio Piston loudspeakers. Priced at US$699, the new BagAmp line array PA system will be displayed at the upcoming NAMM Summer Show, July 17-19, at the Nashville Convention Center....
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Ngmoco releases Rolando 2 for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersGame creator and publisher ngmoco has released Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid. It's available for US$9.99 at the Apple App Store.
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VA Apple store closed due to shooting, armed robbery attempt
Filed under: Retail The Clarendon Apple Store in Arlington, VA is closed today as police investigate a shooting that took place there this morning. The Washington Post reports that a woman was injured via a gunshot to the shoulder during an armed robbery attempt. TV station WJLA adds the detail that the victim was an employee who went to answer a knock at the store's rear service door.I've shopped at the Clarendon store, and the staff has always been unfailingly helpful and courteous. I hope that the victim of the shooting enjoys a complete and prompt recovery, and that the Clarendon team can also recover quickly from what must be a very traumatic experience.Via jdonels tweet, thanks Chris Anderson.TUAWVA Apple store closed due to shooting, armed robbery attempt originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Thanks to TheAppleBlog Sponsors!
We’d like to say thanks to this month’s sponsor of TheAppleBlog: HD Meetings – From Fuze Meeting: Wunder Radio provides access to thousands of streaming Internet radio stations and on your iPhone or Windows Mobile Phone. Mozy: Back up your photos, music, and files with Mozy for as low as $4.34 per month. [...]Related PostsGigaOM: Thanks to Our GigaOM Sponsors!GigaOM: What Apple Announced Today at WWDCjkOnTheRun: Thanks to our jkOnTheRun Sponsors!
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iPhone 3GS jailbreak, 'purplera1n,' hits Web
Hacker who originally unlocked the iPhone has let loose a jailbreaking app for the iPhone 3GS ahead of the iPhone dev team. For now, it's Windows-only, but a Mac version is supposedly on the way.
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Email Full-Resolution Photos From the iPhone
Good tip: If you use copy-and-paste instead of the “Email Photo” button in the Camera app, you can email the full-resolution version of the photo. â
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Friday Favorite Triple Pack: Alarm Clock 2, Apptrap, and TimeMachineEditor
Filed under: Software, Freeware, Friday FavoriteWhen I consider what should really be system software, I always think of three little beauties that belong on every Mac: Alarm Clock 2, AppTrap and TimeMachineEditor. They are all one-trick-ponies, take up little space, are free for the downloading, and Apple should buy them up for Snow Leopard.Alarm Clock 2, currently up to version 2.4.5, sits nicely on your menubar ready to awaken you with your favorite song, or remind you that your dinner is ready to come out of the oven. You can set an alarm to use any song from your iTunes library, or if no song is chosen, it will just beep at you. It has an Easy Wake option that slowly brings up the volume of your chosen song over an adjustable period of up to two minutes. As any good alarm clock, it comes with a snooze feature, which is also adjustable. I use it mostly as a kitchen timer that keeps me out of the kitchen. Multiple alarms can be set of course, and if you happen to have an Apple remote lying around, pushing the pause button will tell an alarm to 'snooze'. Since downloading it, I can't think of a day that that I haven't used it at least onceApptrap is a preference pane that allows you to delete applications more completely than dragging to the trash and emptying. Trashing the normal way usually leaves support files in your library folder that will never go away and do nothing more useful than take up space. With Apptrap installed, whenever you drag an application to the trash and try and empty the trash, you are presented with a window showing you the file and all support files that go along with the application, allowing you to trash them all together in one stroke. There are no settings, options or anything else to worry about. Just install it and forget it. The next time you delete an application, it will be there for you.Note that AppTrap is open source but is no longer being actively maintained; the developer is looking for someone to pick up the project. If you want a commercially supported uninstall tool, you can check out the $12.95US AppZapper or the highly-recommended and multicapable file organizer Hazel for $21.95. Mat also wrote up a helpful Mac 101 on uninstaller tools last year.TimeMachineEditor stops Time Machine from backing up every hour. On my network, with four Macs backing up to Time Machine, hourly, the network slows down to a crawl. This is especially annoying since my information isn't critical enough to be backed that frequently. TimeMachineEditor allows you to set exactly when Time Machine will run. You can set backups for hourly intervals, like every 12 hours, or set up calendar backups which allow you to backup daily, weekly or monthly at any time you set. The hourly calendar interval is new to version 2.1. I have my Macs backup once a day during the wee hours with each Mac staggered by an hour or so to keep the network hit to a minimum. Download all three and see how these brilliant little afterthoughts improve your Mac life.TUAWFriday Favorite Triple Pack: Alarm Clock 2, Apptrap, and TimeMachineEditor originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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FlashVideo Converter for Mac OS X gets improved FPS settings
Posted by Dennis SellersMacvide has announced FlashVideo Converter 3.0, an update of the Flash to video conversion utility for Mac OS X. The upgrade improves the FPS settings for QuickTime, MPEG, MPEG-2 and MP4.
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Jailbreak for iPhone 3GS Now Available Online
At this point we probably shouldn't need to start a jailbreaking post off with a disclaimer about how doing it with your iPhone is not condoned with Apple, and may void your warranty, so you should approach doing so at your own risk, but a friendly reminder never hurts. Now, on to the reason behind the disclaimer: The iPhone 3GS, after only three weeks on the market, has been successfully jailbroken, and the software that allows it is now available online. Happy Independence Day. The iPhone Dev Team, who are behind this and almost every previous iPhone jailbreak, actually hadn't planned on releasing this particular jailbreak yet. George Hotz (aka Geohot), a member of the Dev Team and the first to unlock the original iPhone, seems to have gone behind the team's back and leaked the software early. The Dev Team was holding out for iPhone OS 3.1 to drop, in order to hopefully avoid Apple patching the vulnerability that allows jailbreaking with that update. For now, the hack, called purplera1n, is Windows-only (and doesn't work with the Windows 7 Release Candidate), and obviously you need an iPhone 3GS to use it. People hoping to unlock their 3GS for use on other carriers will also have to wait, since unlocking is not yet available for Apple's newest phone. It will, however, allow you to install unofficial third-party apps, like Backgrounder, which might prove far more useful given the iPhone's new, more muscular hardware specs. Geohot explains his decision to leak the release early on his personal blog: Normally I don't make tools for the general public, and rather wait for the dev team to do it. But guys, whats up with waiting until 3.1? That isn't how the game is played. We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes. It isn't worth waiting because you might have the “last” hole in the iPhone. What last hole…this isn't golf. I'll find a new one next week. In the same blog post, Geohot also goes into detail about how to find and install the purplera1n tool, and steps you can take in case anything goes wrong. Check it out if you're a Windows user and you've been eagerly awaiting a 3GS jailbreak. Market research you can use: Keep informed about Cloud Computing and IT Infrastructure. Learn more ť
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Apple patents point to haptics, fingerprints, RFID
Three just-published patent applications hint at the company's future plans. But it could be a while before we see any of the functionality built into iPhones or other Apple devices.
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Mac cloner Psystar says it's ready to leave Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Posted by Dennis Sellers In a company newsletter Mac clone maker Psystar says it's ready to leave Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, for which is filed in May. And, of course, the legal battle between it and Apple rages on.
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Apple exempt from China's Internet filtering mandate?â¨
Posted by Dennis SellersApple appears to be exempt from China's mandate that a controversial Internet filtering program be shipped with all computers sold in the country, reports the IDG News Service.
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Milebug 1.4 released for the iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersIzatt has updated MileBug—an iPhone/iPod app designed to help those driving their own vehicles for business, charity, medical, or other reasons receive their reimbursement and/or tax deduction—to version 1.4. The upgrade is compatible with iPhone OS 3.0, includes a new icon, access to the MileBug blog, and more.
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Engadget Podcast 153 - 07.03.2009: Independence Day edition
It's your holiday weekend America -- how are you going to spend it? We'll tell you how: by listening to Engadget Podcast 153 over, and over, and over. What better way to utilize your extra day off and barbecue-packed good times than by putting Josh, Paul, and Nilay on repeat for you (and your friends') enjoyment? Check out the 'cast this week as the boys explore the ups and downs of the Olympus E-P1, Dell's MID plans, and field a handful of questions from our handsome, intelligent, and just basically awesome listeners. You won't be disappointed. Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Producer: Trent Wolbe Song: Virt - Katamari on the RockHear the podcast 00:02:10 - Olympus E-P1 hands-on, test shots, and mini-review00:10:26 - Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 gets officially detailed, priced for US market00:14:22 - Wii MotionPlus impressions: it works, but so far the games aren't worth the fuss00:24:45 - Dell working on iPod touch-esque Android MID, says WSJ00:32:08 - Android 1.5 gets official SDK for native development00:38:10 - Video: Mobinnova élan sporting a custom Tegra UI00:47:30 - Video: NVIDIA Tegra's GPU gets busy with HD video and full-screen Flash -- Intel 945GSE shrugs, kicks dirt00:47:30 - Verizon BlackBerry Tour unboxing00:50:17 - BlackBerry Tour hands-on, wild sibling confrontation with Curve and Bold00:53:00 - RIM CEO: "SurePress is here to stay"00:57:00 - 13-year-old trades iPod for Walkman, reports on mysterious ancient artifact01:04:55 - iPhone 3GS review01:07:15 - Palm Pre reviewSubscribe to the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) LISTEN (OGG) Contact the podcast 1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadgetFiled under: PodcastsEngadget Podcast 153 - 07.03.2009: Independence Day edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Want to BBQ with the iPhone? You don't even need an app
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Humor, Odds and ends, iPhone Not really -- if you really are planning to grill up some meat (or mushrooms and pineapples, they're good too) today or this weekend, you'll need a little more heat than your iPhone will give. But it's true, Apple's little handheld can get nice and toasty when it's really working, and illustrator Chad Covino made a little Fourth of July BBQ-themed sketch about that very subject. We love it -- very nice work!My iPhone does get hot, but not so hot I can't pick it up -- usually when I'm running 3D for a longer stretch of time or when the phone is doing some serious calculating like audio or photo editing, I start to feel the heat coming off the back. Batteries are to blame for some of the more extreme problems, however, and that's not a huge surprise, given that batteries in any mobile device have their issues. The good news in that case, however, is that the phone is unlikely to actually explode -- the repair guy Wired talks to says that "a little bit of smoke eventually is probably the best bet." Not that a smoking iPhone is a good situation at all, but you can at least be sure that your iPhone is not quite as hot as the fire under your burgers this weekend.TUAWWant to BBQ with the iPhone? You don't even need an app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Sonnet announces price cut on Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34
Posted by Dennis SellersSonnet Technologies has cut the price on the Tempo SATA Pro ExpressCard/34, a two-port SATA host controller designed for video capture and editing in the field, studio, or office. It's now being offered for US$199.99 instead of $299.99.
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Apple's 'active packaging' patent application tries to reinvent the box
Electronics packaging has been growing steadily smaller and less annoying over recent times, but here comes Apple adding complexity where we didn't know it was needed. The bright sparks at Cupertino envision powered, data-transmitting boxes that will ensure the device within is fully juiced, packing the latest firmware, and capable of pumping out video demos so that the packaging needn't get in the way of wooing customers. Sure, up-to-date firmware and a full battery sound nice, but we can't help but wonder about the price premium we'd have to swallow to be able to see our new toy dancing before we've even set it free from its box.[Via Phone Arena]Filed under: Misc. GadgetsApple's 'active packaging' patent application tries to reinvent the box originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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App Developer Diary Part 2: Pitching My Concept
In this week's enlightening installment of the App Developer Diary, I pitch my game concept to the coders, preach the gospel of the Game Bible and muse upon the possibility of the project imploding. Straight after submitting last week's App Developer Diary, I packed up my Macbook Pro and headed down to Nolla, a local bar and Scandinavian restaurant. I was to meet with Markus, one of the project's coders, and pitch my game concept to him. Hailing from Finland, Markus Piipari is one of the three coders who invited me on board to make the game. Together, with his brother Matias and Benjamin Schuster-BĂśckler, the trio formed Pear Computers, a dev studio specializing in mobile development. When I arrived at Nolla, Markus was hunched over his MacBook (one of the old white models, which was sealed, I noted, in a scruffy faux-leather hard cover). He glanced up, headphones in ear, and although he acknowledged me with a quick nod, had that glazed look of somebody whose mind is elsewhere. The pitch process is a fundamental component of having your idea become a reality. It's the first hurdle as, not only should it be a clear and concise outline of your concept, it should also enthuse the rest of the team. As they say in the industry, you need your team's buy in — if the team hasn't bought in to the concept from the very start, then the project is almost certainly doomed to failure. I was already nervous enough, pitching a concept that I believed in so firmly, and yet Markus seemed to want to make me sweat more than a chubby man in a Finnish sauna. Perhaps this was a Scandinavian tactic to pile on the pressure and make pitching an even more tense affair? Or maybe Markus was living up to the stereotype of a hardcore programmer: King of the Code, cold and focused. Setting Up My Pitch Markus uttered a few words in Finnish, clicked around on his Macbook, and the glazed look dissolved into a warm smile. He wasn't cold or emotionless, he was just chatting to his brother, Matias, on Skype. And now he was back in the room, ushering me to sit down, already offering me a steaming glass of black coffee — a staple beverage for Finns throughout the year. Awkwardness over, I booted up my MacBook Pro and opened Apple's Keynote. Rather than bewilder Markus with the entire game design in one go, I'd prepared a short Steve Jobs-style presentation, explaining the multiplayer component of my game concept. The game was to be a multiplayer bat and ball game, featuring novel physics-based power-ups for an added twist. The images that I'd prepared were mockups of the game screen, featuring arrows and captions pointing to the most important elements — describing the game-flow, control mechanic and graphical style. Markus loved the concept and insisted on immediately contacting Matias and Benjamin to enthusiastically pitch the idea to his team. The coders were on board, I had buy in. Boom! The Gospel of Games With the team bought in to the concept, the next step for me would be to produce what's known as a GDD, a Game Design Document. This document is sometimes referred to as a Game Bible as, once written, it's the point of reference for every single detail within the game. Produced during the pre-production phase of a project, the GDD is a key asset during the game's actual production. It provides guidelines for gameplay, user interface and menu flow, scoring and game rules. It will even include the game's story, characters and location. Essentially, every detail of the game, no matter how seemingly inconsequential, is mapped out in this document before starting production. The GDD defines the features and scope of the project, ideally, once production has begun, the GDD won't change and will serve as a blueprint for the game's development. Games being what they are — entire populated virtual worlds with their own distinct rules — they are particularly susceptible to feature creep. This project management issue occurs when new features creep in to the product design during the production phase — it drags out development, costing both time and money. Feeling Doubtful Over the past few days, since my meeting with Markus, my thoughts have been a flurry of game-related ideas, ready to throw in to the GDD before we begin production. It's really happening and it's so exciting to be part of the process. The team — Markus, Matias and Benjamin — are passionate about coding, so accomplished in their abilities, I feel lucky to be working with them. However, my mind keeps returning to one question: Will this app really make it the App Store? It's an exciting project indeed, but it's such a massive undertaking and all the more intense because I'm documenting it in public, right here. It seems like an irrational doubt, but, we could be setting ourselves up for a big fall. Gomi is a forthcoming iPhone game that blends Katamari Damacy with Mario Galaxy, rolling a recycling blob creature around tiny planets to clean up the trash. Based on the preview videos, the game looks fantastic, yet its release has been delayed for several months now. My worry is that if one element goes awry (we lose a coder, the game mechanic isn't fun, the scope is unrealistic, our project planning is off) we could end up delaying, or worse, shutting down the project. Everything seems to have run smoothly so far, but once we get in to the nitty gritty of pre-production, I wonder if that will still be the case. Next time: Marvel at the visual delights as I unveil my conceptual character artwork, delve in to the details of gameplay mechanics and discover what happens when a hardcore coder disagrees with a journalist-cum-designer. It's all in the next thrilling installment of TheAppleBlogâs App Developer Diary. Market research you can use: Keep informed about Cloud Computing and IT Infrastructure. Learn more ť
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No new hints today
Macworld's offices are closed today in celebration of Independence Day in the United States. Hints will return as usual on Monday. -rob.
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News: iPodweek newsletter coming shortly
iPodweek, iLounge's weeky newsletter recapping the latest news, reviews, and more, will be hitting inboxes later today—but if you haven't yet signed up, there's still plenty of time. Just use the simple form below to submit your email address, and be on the lookout for the giveaways and discount offers from various companies. Sign up for the iPodweek Newsletter: Email address: IMPORTANT: Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Earthlink…
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News: Ngmoco releases Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid
Ngmoco has released Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid, the sequel to the company's popular Rolando game for the iPhone and iPod touch. In Rolando 2, players once again control a number of round characters, using a combination of accelerometer and touch controls to roll, jump, and otherwise navigate throughout the various levels. iLounge was given the opportunity to play a pre-release build of the game while we were at WWDC, and we found…
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Big Nerd Ranch Europe offers iPhone Bootcamp in September
Posted by Dennis SellersBig Nerd Ranch Europe, a provider of training classes for programmers and system administrators, is offering the iPhone Bootcamp Sept. 21-25 of Kloster Eberbach, near Frankfurt, Germany. The five-day class, taught by Alexander von Below, looks at the integral components of iPhone development and emerge fully skilled in the ability...
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OmniOutliner 3 Pro
Weâre constantly collecting scraps of information: recipes, website addresses, notes for a meeting next week, or a list of music to buy. OmniOutliner store these bits, but itâs especially useful in organizing them for further action. It quickly turns out to-do lists, writing outlines, and other guides. The results are valuable enough to justify adding OmniOutliner to your Applications folder even though much of its functionality is redundant with any text editor.read more
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Cruising with the AT&T Navigator
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App ReviewI love GPS. in the mid 1990s I had a Garmin unit that had no maps, just a bread crumb trail of where you were and where you'd been. I lived in England at the time, and thought I had a highly original idea to take it to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and walk across the Meridian line and watch the screen as the numbers dropped to zero longitude. When I got there, I was hardly alone. I was surrounded by other geeks doing exactly the same thing. Oh well.GPS has come a long way, and AT&T has released their subscription based Navigator [App Store] for the iPhone. It requires OS version 3.0. It is fee based, and will set you back US$9.95 a month on your AT&T bill. It is loaded with features, and has voice guided turn by turn directions. It also offers: Automatic rerouting Updated maps with no additional charge Real time traffic updates Fuel Price searches and navigation to those locations Point of interest searches in all the usual categories like ATM machines, hospitals, restaurants, airports The map gives you a 3D view from a position just above and behind your vehicle. On the setup page you can chose flat maps if your prefer. I found the maps easy to read but would have preferred a landscape view instead of portrait, but there is no option to change. I saw a little lag when driving, but generally the response was fast. The app really needs a 3G connection. It works on the Edge network but was slow to load graphics. If you are somewhere where you have neither you are out of luck. No maps are contained on the app and nothing is cached. In essence, the app is only as good as the AT&T network, and if you do a lot of driving where the network is weak or absent, you'll be navigating on your own.I found the voice very hard to hear. This is a limitation of the iPhone speaker. It just wasn't designed to be played at a loud volume. On the highway, with road noise, good luck hearing that warning to turn. Of course, the directions are on the map, but the whole purpose of voice instructions is to keep you from looking at the map.Other features are a high altitude view of your entire trip from beginning to end, a list of your turns on a scrollable page, directions to the nearest AT&T WiFi hotspots (nice), and the ability to set your default navigation method like shortest, fastest, traffic optimized, prefer highways or streets, or pedestrian routing if you're not driving.I found the voice alerts were too frequent. Frankly, the app is a blabbermouth, and it kept reminding me of a far away turn too often for my taste. It would be nice to be able to set just how aggressive the voice warnings are.The big questions for most iPhone users will be to wait for other Nav apps to appear. TomTom is imminent, as is an app from Navigon. They both download the maps to your phone, so you are not dependent on the AT&T network. You only need GPS, and that signal is everywhere. You could also buy an inexpensive dedicated unit, that on the low end will cost about the same as a year of the AT&T subscription, and will certainly have a better speaker. Of course, there will be fees to update the maps, but in my experience you can use a GPS for years without doing that. Points of interest change, but the iPhone provides other sources like Google for up to date info.I also think it is a bloody shame that the AT&T app has no access to your address book. Apple has walled that data off from 3rd party apps, and it is just senseless to have you type everything in again. You can copy and paste the data, but it is a needless pain. The AT&T app has this access when it runs on other phones like the Blackberry.In summary, the app works, and is feature laden. I'm not sure it is the best option for in-car navigation, and you might want to wait for other solutions to appear. Of course, you can always get the AT&T app and cancel. It's a month by month charge.So how is it like to drive with this app? My colleague Steven Sande did just that and his report follows.Before you go, here are some screen shots to give you a look at some of the features on AT&T Navigator:Gallery: AT&T NavigatorTUAWCruising with the AT&T Navigator originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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TeamViewer Manager now available for Mac
Posted by Dennis SellersTeamViewer TeamViewer, a provider of solutions for online communication and collaboration, has released TeamViewer Manager for Mac, a database tool designed to store support session details. Created for large companies and call centers, TeamViewer Manager is designed to record session information for quick recall and increased client service in a...
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Trampoline and Dock Gone join the latest MacBundle
Posted by Dennis SellersOld Jewel Software's Trampoline and Dock are two of the apps in the latest TheMacBundles. Trampoline, an app and tool launcher, normally costs US$19.95. Dock Gone, which lets you hide the Dock, normally costs US$9.95.
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'Handwriting' recognition offers accurate way for dating stone tablets
Archaeology 101 will tell you that accurately dating an object is critical to understanding its meaning and value. When it comes to stone carvings, this typically requires a researcher with plenty of energy, time and skill, but scientists at the National Technical University of Athens have now developed a computer algorithm that promises to revolutionize the entire process. By overlaying digital scans of known inscribers' work, the Greek team are able to recognize stylistic idiosyncrasies and thereby identify the author of a carving. Their accuracy was confirmed by a recent test, in which they attributed proper authorship of 24 stone tablets, picking out the correct chiseler each time. Next step: seeking royalty payments for the works of your great uncle Xanthos.Filed under: Science'Handwriting' recognition offers accurate way for dating stone tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Palm Pre Sales Tapering Off; Roger McNamee Eating Crow on iPhone Prediction
“You know the beautiful thing: June 29, 2009, is the two-year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone. Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later.” – Palm investor Roger McNamee
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NMobile speed trap app for iPhone launches at no cost
Posted by Dennis SellersNjection.com has announced that Njection Mobile (NMobile), its worldwide speed trap notification system for the iPhone 3G and iPod touch, has been updated to version 1.1.3. It's free and is available at the Apple App Store.
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iPhone 3GS jailbreak released by GeoHot ahead of Dev Team
Be warned, this is beta stuff and we haven't been able to test it ourselves. However, a number of breathless tipsers and commenters are reporting a successful jailbreak and unlock of their iPhone 3GS. The magic begins with a 3GS jailbreak released by GeoHot. See, George is fed up with the Dev-Team's insistence on waiting until Apple releases 3.1. As he puts it:Normally I don't make tools for the general public, and rather wait for the dev team to do it. But guys, whats up with waiting until 3.1? That isn't how the game is played. We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes. It isn't worth waiting because you might have the "last" hole in the iPhone. What last hole...this isn't golf. I'll find a new one next week. Meeeeow. After performing the jailbreak, ultras0w should then take care of the unlock although we haven't seen official comment on this by GeoHot or the Dev-Team yet. Good luck, backup, and kiss the children goodbye -- it could be a long weekend if you brick your new iPhone. Now hit the read link if you must.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]iPhone 3GS jailbreak released by GeoHot ahead of Dev Team originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Juniper Research: 223 million smartphones with open source operating systems to ship by 2014
Posted by Dennis SellersThe number of smartphones shipped with open source operating systems (OS) will increase from 106 million this year to 223 million by 2014 according to a new report from telecom consultants Juniper Research.
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Happy Independence Day!
Posted by Dennis Sellers On July 4, 1776, the United States declared its independence from Britain. In honor of the Fourth of July, Macsimum News will be running a limited schedule over the three-day holiday weekend. We hope all our readers have a great day and that peace and freedom will flourish throughout the...
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Contrarian Short Base Rises for Palm
Palm Inc. (PALM) has been one of 2009's top performers due to the anticipation of the Palm Pre smartphone this month. The share price is up over 28% in the last month, but there is a contrarian view with short base (measured by the Percent Shares Outstanding on Loan) also rising up almost 10% to 17.98% over the same period. The contrarian view might argue that PALM would be fighting current consumer trends given the popularity of Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and Research in Motion's (RIMM) Blackberry. The short bases in the two competitors are considerably lower at 0.74% and 2.14% respectively.
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Mac OS Ken: 07.03.2009
TUAW: Possible Compromised Data on Apple Learning Exchange Forum / TMO Examines Psystarâs âGet Out of Bankruptcyâ Filing / Internal AT&T Memo Shows Tremendous Success of iPhone 3GS Launch / JPMorgan: Plam on Track to Sell 730k Pres By End of August / Apple Airing Third iPhone 3GS TV Commercial / ACU Kits Incoming Freshmen with iPhone 3GSs Mac OS X Security Guru / Spots Danger in SMS for iPhone Security / Charlie Miller: Jailbroken iPhones More Vulnerable Than Regular iPhones / MacNN: Apple Store Can Fix Broken iPhone Screens / Apple Tweaks a Number of Features in MobileMe / âRingtones as Public Performance?â EFF says âNo!â
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ANDESigned releases Total Baby for the iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersANDESigned has released its newest addition to the Baby Tracker Family: Total Baby for the iPhone and iPod touch. Expanding on Baby Tracker: Nursing and Baby Tracker: Diapers, this is a baby logging and tracking app. It's available for US$4.99 at the Apple App Store.
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Canon EOS 5D Mark II
When Canon announced the 5D back in 2005, it was a game-changer. The camera was the first full-frame DSLR--meaning that its CMOS sensor is the same size as a frame of 35mm film, about 60 percent larger than the sensors in most DSLRs--in a standard sized SLR body, all for just a bit more than $3,000. Three years later, its successor, the 5D Mark II, pushes the image-quality bar higher and the cost of entry lower. But 2009 offers a more crowded field of competitors, and this camera comes with a few things--like full 1080p HD video--that puts it in a category all its own. read more
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Sprint swaggers, promises to be first to release 3G Femtocell in US
While AT&T's still claiming MicroCell will be out before the year's up, Sprint's bringing out the big words by boasting to Unstrung it'll be beating everyone to the market with its 3G femtocell solution. Company VP of device and technology development Mathew Oommen is pretty light on some of the finer details -- like actual release date, hardware supplier, pricing scheme, and pretty much every other piece of information we'd want -- but he did imply there'd be multiple options available for the CDMA EV-DO Rev. A extender, including a device more tailored for enterprise use. Look, you two can fight all you want over who gets first, but in the end, we just want our Pres and iPhones to live together and home in perfect-reception harmony -- think we can get that in time for Christmas?[Via Slashgear]Filed under: Cellphones, WirelessSprint swaggers, promises to be first to release 3G Femtocell in US originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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iPhone speed trap app goes free with launch of location-based ad engine
Posted by Dennis SellersNjection LLC has announced that Njection Mobile, a worldwide speed trap notification system for the iPhone 3G, has been updated to version 1.1.3. And the software is being offered for free before the 4th of July weekend.
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KarmaStar
Tapping one of these green badges increases the trait skill and scores 1 point. read more
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CalDigit offers free CalDigit VR with purchase of HDElement
Posted by Dennis SellersCalDigit is offering a special, limited time promotion on the HDElement. Buy an HDElement or HDElement expansion unit and get a free CalDigit VR.