Feb 6, 2008 Feb 8, 2008 Thursday February 7, 2008
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Will the iPhone SDK offer a built-in simulator?
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone When reverse engineering, it's sometimes hard to figure out exactly what you're looking at, and what it all means. For example, the iPhone's supported platforms include the following. Platforms = (M68, N82, simulator); Platforms = (N45); We know what the M68 platform is. It's the iPhone. And we know what N45 is, the iPod touch. So what's the N82? Could it be another member of the iPhone family? Perhaps. It's hard to make that call without any more data -- so rather than worry about N82, let's consider the next entry: "simulator."Continue reading Will the iPhone SDK offer a built-in simulator?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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New Twitterrific beta 3.1b3
Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, Beta BeatThe gang over at Iconfactory has released a new beta of Twitterrific, the slick Mac Twitter client. The update adds some handy new features like more fine grained Growl control (it no longer takes over your entire desktop with a million notifications when you log in after a break), some new keyboard shortcuts (based on NetNewsWire) and better user control over Twitterrific's window behavior. Of course there are bugfixes, including plugging an annoying memory leak and generally improving application responsiveness (or, as the Iconfactory folks put it: "added teh snappy"). The beta is available for direct download (zip file).Twitterific remains $14.95 if you want to remove the ads, or free to use with ads.[via Twitter]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Another Apple uPod
I spoke before about Apple's tendency to under promise and over deliver, or "uPod" regarding it's business outlook. Well I had just had an experience with an overlooked, but amazingly powerful feature that, to the best of my knowledge, Apple has never hyped or even marketed at all. That feature is the "Migration Assistant." Here was my dilemma. I was having lots of issues with my personal MacBook Pro and it was slowing down my productivity big time. So my company ordered me a new one last week and it was delivered this Monday. But I've been so busy I could not find the time to switch over, so I stuck with my unreliable MacBook simply because it had all my stuff in it. During one of my frequent reboots I remembered the Migration Assistant. (I've never used it before because I'm one of those old-school techies who likes to build his hard drive one install at a time) Basically, all I had to do was reboot my old Mac into Firewire disk mode (try that MacBook Air!) and connect a Firewire cable to my new Mac. A few clicks (and a few hours) later, and my new MacBook was a carbon copy of my old one. I was amazed! Every file, document, email, iPhoto, iTune, even the arrangement of icons on my dock and my desktop was preserved. It is the most amazing feeling to pick up a brand new computer and hit the ground running with everything where it should be in just a few hours. Such a feet usually takes about a week. Clearly this isn't the coolest feature around, but perhaps the most practical when trying to get people to buy a new Mac. I think Apple should invest in a PC vs Mac commercial where Justin speaks to this feature since there are lots of people like me who stick with their old computers for fear of the hard work of migrating. Have you ever used the Migration Assistant?
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Article: Ask iLounge 2-7-08
This week's Ask iLounge topics: Transferring music from iPod touch, Voice recorders for 2007 iPods, Cover Flow on 5G iPod, Renaming your iPod, iTunes and iLife, Organizing music transferred from the iPod
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★ Devil’s Advocate
So, all joking aside, there seems to be a clear consensus regarding Microsoft’s offer to buy Yahoo: If Microsoft succeeds in acquiring Yahoo, they’re going to make Yahoo worse. Neither Yahoo’s executives nor rank-and-file employees want this to happen, but there’s nothing they can do to stop it. I’m more certain about the second point, though, than the first. Yahoo is caught between a rock and hard place. The rock: prior to Microsoft’s offer, the company’s share price had dipped so low that Microsoft could offer shareholders a significant premium and still get a bargain on the deal. The hard place: even at this price, Yahoo is so valuable that there doesn’t appear to be any other potential suitor that can afford to buy it. $40 billion is, quite simply, an enormous amount of money. To put that in perspective, one company that’s been suggested as a rival suitor is Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. But News Corp. itself has a market cap of just $62 billion. News Corp.’s acquisition of Dow Jones & Co. (parent company of The Wall Street Journal) last year drew significant attention, but that deal was nearly an order of magnitude smaller at just $5 billion. With no other apparent suitors, and no other way to boost the company’s share price to this range, I see little chance of Yahoo wiggling out of this. But so what about the other point of conventional wisdom — that, if completed, the acquisition would be bad for Yahoo, and, perhaps, bad for Microsoft? That was my initial conclusion, and still my gut feeling. But it’s certainly possible that Microsoft could make Yahoo better, not worse. The reason I — along with everyone else — think it’s unlikely is that it would require Microsoft to be un-Microsoftian. Here’s Dan “Fake Steve” Lyons’s analogy: It’s like taking the two guys who finished second and third in a 100-yard dash and tying their legs together and asking for a rematch, believing that now they’ll run faster. That pretty much summarizes the Microsoft-being-Microsoft route. In a word: assimilation. If they try this with Yahoo, they’ll choke. Yahoo is too big, and too different, to be absorbed into Microsoft. But what if Microsoft does the unexpected and keeps Yahoo separate and distinct? On a vastly smaller scale, that’s what Microsoft has done with its Mac Business Unit. Microsoft created the Mac BU in the wake of Word 6 for Mac, which was, more or less, a direct port to the Mac of the Windows version of Word and almost universally abhorred by Mac users. To succeed on the Mac, Microsoft needed a (relatively) independent Mac division, and so that’s what they created. Yahoo could be Microsoft’s independent web division. Here’s how they could make it work: Clean house at Yahoo’s executive and upper management level and install an executive to lead all of Yahoo with complete authority and a clear vision — someone who answers only and directly to Steve Ballmer. Keep the Yahoo brand along with all of Yahoo’s successful products — and product teams — as they are. Commission one or two high-profile new Yahoo endeavors. The first should be to have the Flickr team do for video what they’ve already done for still photography. (Why Yahoo didn’t do this immediately after acquiring Flickr, instead choosing to stood on the sidelines playing pocket pool while YouTube swelled into a multi-billion-dollar product, is a mystery for the ages.) Let Yahoo continue to choose and create their own server and software development tools. Yahoo knows as much about high-capacity web scaling as any company in the world. That they’ve built their architecture around Linux, BSD, Apache, MySQL, and PHP — not a whiff of Microsoft technology — is a strength, not a weakness. Allowing Yahoo to keep this architecture isn’t just essential in terms of keeping existing Yahoo engineers happy, it would also greatly expand Microsoft’s overall corporate expertise. In a broad sense, Yahoo reminds me a lot of Apple a decade ago. Good products, a large base of dedicated but restless users (many of them outright “fans”), and an employee base of talented engineers and product designers — but lousy, visionless, ineffective management. What Yahoo needs is a Steve Jobs — someone who will ruthlessly focus the company on products that are better, more popular, and more profitable. Is that possible within the confines of Microsoft? I doubt it, but I hope so.
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Frequently Asked Upgrade Questions
Apple quietly announced a higher capacity model as you all may know, but some recent questions are starting to pop up everywhere. After some initial confusion, iLounge received clarification from AT&T regarding the possibility of replacing your current iPhone with a 16GB one. You can read more about…
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The US Apple Store has gone offline
Filed under: Retail, Rumors, AppleOur tipline is exploding this evening with announcements of the US Apple Store going offline (is anyone outside the US seeing the same?). It's probably nothing, but just in case, keep your eye on TUAW for updates. If it returns with new goodies in tow, we'll let you know. Now, you may resume your obsessive watch over store.apple.com.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Getting testy with the MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is unlike any other computer in Apple’s line-up. The Macworld Lab testers putting the laptop through its paces aren’t so sure that’s always a good thing.
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Rumor: Apple planning late February event?
According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog, one of the television firms that works with Apple is gearing up for a late February event on behalf of the company.
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Feds eye music site backed by 2 labels
Federal regulators have begun asking questions about a music-subscription site backed by at least two of the major music labels. The U.S. Department of Justice has requested information from Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group about Total Music, an iTunes competitor that plans to offer music from ...
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A Coda on Less is More
Sven-S. Porst on the crummy content of Coda’s built-in reference books. E.g. the JavaScript reference makes no mention of either Firefox or Safari. ★
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Apple: "There are better ways to reach customers" than NAB 2008
Confirmed: Apple wont be attending the National Association of Broadcasters convention this year. What gives?Read More...
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Twitterific 3.1 (Beta) Annoys Less, Fixes Bugs
The fine folks over at Icon Factory have release a beta (1.2MB zip file) update to their popular OS X Twitter client which fixes one really annoying problem in how new messages are displayed – no more autoscroll to the top – and adds a slew of enhancements, including NetNewsWire-like keyboard shortcuts (the spacebar moves to the next tweet that is unread, the 'k' key will mark all tweets as read, and the 'u' key will mark a tweet as unread) . While it's not a full “.1″ release and is a very task-specific application, I mention it because I (@hrbrmstr) find Twitter to be a great way to interact with folks in the Mac community and have nothing but kudos for Craig Hockenberry (@chockenberry) for how well he has responded to the constant hounding from all of us 'twits', both on new features and on fixing problems. The responsiveness of the OS X developer community is one of the reasons the Mac is such a great platform to use, and Twitter makes interacting with many of them extremely easy and, dare I say, fun. So, push the limits of the app, tweet your feedback and enjoy the fact that you can have great influence in the development of applications on best platform there is. Tags: Commentary, icon factory, News, Software, twitter, twitterific Related posts No related posts.
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Brief: AnySIM works on 1.1.3
Great news to anyone running 1.1.3, AnySIM has been updated to support unlocking the latest Firmware. The downside is that Bootloader 3.9 is required, 4.6 is still unsupported. Via: Engadget
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New iPhone Ads: Facebook and Car Prices
If you have yet to see the new iPhone Ads put out by Apple a few days ago, then take a look at them here. The first advertises the use of Facebook on the iPhone. It states: “If you love Facebook so much that…
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Apple cancels booth for NAB
Filed under: Software, Video, Other EventsIf you were planning on Apple pulling something out of its hat on a booth at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas in early April, you're going to be disappointed. TVTechnology.com has received confirmation from Apple's Senior Manager of PR Anuj Nayar that the folks from Cupertino are cutting back on their show participation, and will not be having a booth at NAB this year.With some of us at TUAW hoping to get some more details on the long-delayed Final Cut Server at NAB, this is something of a disappointment. Despite a statement that FCS will be 'available in early 2008,' the software has yet to ship. Of course, Apple not having a booth doesn't mean that the future of Final Cut Server is indeterminate -- Apple is touting its use at a Los Angeles TV station, after all -- but all those hoping to see it in action at NAB will be left wanting.Thanks Brett!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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First Looks: Griffin Elan Form Hard-Shell Natural Cork Case for iPhone
Sommeliers, you can stop holding your breath now: there's finally an iPhone case made from cork. Yes, cork. As ridiculous as the idea may seem, this version of Griffin's Elan Form ($30) differs substantially in external materials from the one previously reviewed, with its thin but legitimate layer of cork reinforced internally by a more substantial, hard plastic shell. A partial face protector and a cleaning cloth are also included in the package....…
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Twitterrific 3.1 beta fixes memory leak
Twitterrific is a favorite amongst Mac-using Tweeters, so the new 3.1 beta's features and bug fixes are certainly welcome. Read More...
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First Looks: Griffin Courier Utility Case for iPod touch, classic & iPhone
Attractively updated from the somewhat chunkier prior version for earlier iPods, Griffin Technology's new Courier ($35) is still designed to mount your iPod with Velcro or an included carabiner hook to the strap of a backpack or other bag; what's new is the slick design, the cleaner iPod classic/5G and iPod touch/iPhone holders, and the detachable accessory holder that can be used to carry your earbuds or a cable around. A zippered compartment…
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Apple Gazette Daily 203 - Apple Sales Cuts, No NAB, and New AppleTV Patents
Apple is cutting even more sales numbers, they have scrapped their plans to appear at NAB 2008, and there is also a new interesting Apple patent filing. You can subscribe via iTunes, or by RSS feed, or… you can listen to the episode right here: In addition to that, you can also download the Apple Gazette Daily Widget and listen to every episode of the show right on your Dashboard. Click Here to download.
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Apple TV patent filing boasts video chat, widgets, broadcast capability
Filed under: Home Entertainment No stranger to the odd patent filing, Apple has once again delved into the dark waters of the unknown with an application for an Apple TV-like device with iChat-esque functionality, amongst others. In the patent, the company suggests a number of uses for widget overlays during video, including those triggered by content and timing, as well as widgets used for menus and navigation. The patent demonstrates how real-time widget updates may coincide with live broadcast television -- such as a scorecard overlay for a sporting event -- and also showcases a video chat function which can be used simultaneously during the playback or broadcast of content. Additionally, the filing shows a new remote which would have hot buttons for quick access to widgets, navigation, and the automatic milkshake mode (we might have wishfully made up that last one). Sure it looks good, but we'd happily take the latest Apple TV update until this comes along. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Rumor: Apple event the last week of February
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Rumors, Other Events, Apple, iPhoneTUAW has received a tip that the company that does television for Apple's live events and Macworld is apparently hiring for an unannounced Apple event at the end of February. Keep in mind that this is an unconfirmed rumor -- while TUAW trusts our source, job listings are not available on the video company's website, and Apple has not yet announced any events happening this month. But Apple did promise us a year flush with announcements, and starting with the new Mac Pros all the way up to the bigger iPhones and iPod touches last week, they haven't disappointed yet.And what would the event be about? Considering that we've got our ultraportable already, and our HD Apple TV, what big news are we possibly hoping to hear in "the end of February"?This is just a rumor, so don't get too excited yet. But if it is true, and if Apple is holding an event before the end of the month, get ready, baby. We just might be about to see the iPhone SDK.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple exec talks about the MacBook Air
Todd Benjamin of Apple PR talks up the MacBook Air, but gives no rundown on the battery life.Read More...
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Apple Drops out of NAB 2008
Macenstein reports a bit of surprising news this afternoon. Apple has apparently dropped out of NAB 2008. For fans of Apple's professional film/video editing products this is quite a surprise. Apple has, in the past, had one of the largest booths at NAB, showcasing the amazing Final Cut Studio suite, and other professional software options. This year, however, they are “scaling back”. “Apple is participating in fewer trade shows this year,â€? said Anuj Nayar, senior manager of PR at Apple. “Often there are better ways to reach our customers. The increasing popularity of our retail stores and Apple.com Web site allows us to directly reach more than 100 million customers around the world in innovative new ways.â€? To me, that statement is not only a commentary about NAB, but all tradeshows. Could we see a day where the trade show is ineffective because of the limited number of people that are able to attend? This has to come as a huge blow to the promotors of NAB, because not only has Apple chosen skip the expense of a booth - so has AVID. That's two MAJOR players in the world of video editing that won't be on the NAB floor. Now, this doesn't mean that Apple won't have ANY presence at NAB. It's still possible they could put on some small hands-on events, or conduct user groups, but the lack of Avid or Apple at NAB, it looks like the event isn't going to be quite as big as it has been in the past.
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Seven tools for switchers
Filed under: OS, SwitchersSamuel Dean at Web Worker Daily has compiled a nice list of applications that will make Mac OS X more familiar or recent switchers. Included in the list is Adium (for multi-protocol IM), WhatSize for identifying file sizes and types in a manner similar to Windows Explorer and Firefox, since they were probably using it on their Windows machine, anyway.One tip I always share is the spotlight search feature in System Preference. Many switchers get lost in translation; that is, figuring out what Apple has named a certain system preference, or where it lives. System Preference search lets them enter a keyword, like "trackpad", and see the highlighted result. It's very handy.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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The biggest Apple USB mouse in the world
Filed under: Humor, iMac, Apple History, Graphic Design TUAW reader Kim, who runs the Danish blog Kinablog,dk, sent us this piece he wrote about what he calls the world's biggest Apple USB mouse (a.k.a. the iMac mouse, a.k.a. the hockey puck). It's actually a building in China that houses the National Centre for the Performing Arts, with room for 6,500 people in three halls inside 2,000 square meters, designed by Paul Adreu. And he's right-- it bears a striking (though not quite exact) resemblance to the round little early iMac peripheral. Considering that construction started on the building in 2001, and the mouse was released before that, it's a little less of a stretch (though still a stretch) to think that one inspired the other.But Kim is thinking even bigger-- not only does he dare us to imagine the sound of a click on a mouse that big, but he asks what an iMac that size would look like. Stop bending my mind like that, man! Apple is going thinner, not bigger.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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MacBook Air Battery Tests, AT&T Expanding 3G, and More
Today's headline roundup, including a new build of Leopard, a lawsuit against Intel, and the first step toward a 3G iPhone.
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Eve Online Tips & Tricks
EVE of destruction
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News: New Safari exploit discovered in iPhone, iPod touch software
A new exploit affecting the iPhone and iPod touch's MobileSafari browser has been discovered, according to reports. The memory exploit appears to affect all iPhone and iPod touch units with firmware version 1.0.2 or later, and is caused by browsing to a site containing malicious code. The code triggers a memory-exhausting script, which causes the iPhone or iPod touch to crash. Currently, the exploit does not appear to be anything more than a…
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Complicated, Eh?
Bruce Schneier in Wired: Your iPhone comes with a complicated list of rules about what you can and can’t do with it. You can’t install unapproved third-party applications on it. You can’t unlock it and use it with the cellphone carrier of your choice. That doesn’t sound very complicated to me. ★
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AnandTech on MacBook Air Battery Life
AnandTech runs battery life tests against the MacBook Air: Apple’s 5 hour claim is laughable but not as much as I expected. If I wanted to I suspect I could hit 5 hours by making the web browsing test less stressful, but my focus was on real world usage scenarios, not proving Apple correct. Regardless, 4 hours and 16 minutes doing what I consider to be the intended usage model of the Air is respectable. The 4:16 result came from a test with web pages being frequently loaded while iTunes plays music — a pretty reasonable test. I’m curious how this jibes with Jacqui Cheng’s inability to coax more than 2.5 hours out of it. ★
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Want to design the future of Apple’s Pro Apps?
Do you possess a relentless attention to detail, a gifted eye for aesthetics and the ability to quickly grasp and distill highly complex matters? Then you just may be qualified to design future versions of Final Cut Pro, Motion and Soundtrack Pro! Apple always has job openings, but it's a bit rarer that they post one at mediabistro.com: Senior Human Interface Designer (free account required) Maybe they're just having a hard time finding enough candidates who not only possess “complete mastery of the Mac OS X platform,” but also have: Minimum 5 years of experience creating innovative and visually stunning user experiences. Degree in interaction design, human factor and/or visual design (or equivalent). An outstanding body of work demonstrating the successful delivery of innovative application interface design solutions. Deep understanding of Apple’s human interface design language and the ability to translate it into future designs of Apple’s professional applications. Exceptional understanding of fundamental design disciplines (typography, composition, information architecture, color and animation) and principals (affordance, clustering, consistency, usability, etc.) Ability to create final graphic assets for flawless design implementation Upon further reflection, that list could almost be Steve Jobs' résumé. Oh, but “the candidate must be a natural collaborator who prefers developing designs in a team environment.” Sorry Steve. To apply for this position, go to jobs.apple.com Tags: design, interface, jobs, News, pro Related posts Usability - Leopard Dock and iTunes (7) UI Customization in Leopard (18) Shiny Things (3) Oh, it's like an iPhone for your house (14) New TAB Live (43)
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Upgrade Woes Ensue As Customers Activate Newly Upgraded iPhones
Apple’s recent upgrade of the iPhone has been met some fanfare but those looking to upgrade may encounter some problems. Users are reporting that they must extend their current contract by another 2 years just to use their new iPhone. After much confusion, this isn’t the case. The…
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Freeverse's Neon Tango continues the shape shooter tradition
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Odds and ends Freeverse has release a new arcade shooter for the Mac called Neon Tango, and upon first glance, it looks a lot like Geometry Wars (which I've played many, many times late into the night on my Xbox 360). But then again, Geometry Wars looks like Asteroids, which looks like Space War, and so on, all the way back, so the only thing that really matters here is how it plays; fun's fun. Freeverse brags that Neon Tango has "state of the art OpenGL graphics," a techno soundtrack put together by someone named "Digital Droo," and lots and lots of various shapes throughout 50 stages for you to shoot with your little ship avatar.The game is currently available as a trial download over on their website, or you can get the full version for $24.95. Looks like fun.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple's Valuation Is Looking Attractive Again
The recent drop in shares of Apple (AAPL) has probably been more pronounced than most expected. It's true, the stock was very expensive at its all-time high of more than $200 per share (40 times forward earnings), but the catalyst for the sharp $80 per share drop we have seen recently was the company's extremely conservative guidance for the current quarter.
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Remote Install Mac OS X on MacBook Air: Pokey, but it works
We ran into some trouble while trying to perform Migration Assistant over WiFi on the MacBook Air. So did the same fare for a reinstall of the OS over Remote Disc? Fortunately, the answer is no.Read More...
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The Day I Un-Jailbroke My iPhone and Fell In Love With It All Over Again
After holding out through 3 updates and almost 5 months, I finally updated the firmware on my iPhone thus un-jailbreaking it and undoing everything that installer.app and the countless community sources had done to my phone. This meant clearing out all my third-party apps, all my custom icons, my custom…
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FolderTeint: darkness for your desktop
Filed under: Freeware, LeopardWhen it comes to my desktop and the icons that sit upon it, I have a fondness for darkness. It's not because of a fatalistic world view or any gothic tendencies on my part, I simply like my work to pop out against a non-distracting background. The black desktop is easy, but I've been looking for a fast and easy way to darken my icons without a lot of bells and whistles. And then I stumbled upon FolderTeint. FolderTeint is free and Leopard-only. Using its slick interface, you can select which folders to affect and apply different effects to each selected set. The simplicity of the interface is what I like the most. The adjustment HUD only allows you to change the contrast, saturation and brightness of the icons, with an optional overlay color for hue control. It's perfect for making your system folder icons a nice, dark shade of grey. But to answer the question before it's asked: yes, it's also simple to make every folder a different shade of hot pink. Fortunately for those who regret their iconic 80s tribute later, you're always a click (and a logout) away from restoring the stock icons. FolderTeint is free to download and use, but I'm certain that author Thomas Zoechling would gladly accept some PayPal love.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Snake Oil, Eh?
Jack Schofield raises a stink in The Guardian because the chart Steve Jobs used in his Macworld keynote to depict current U.S. smartphone market share was in pseudo-3D perspective, which made Apple’s 19.5 percent slice look bigger than the 21.2 percent slice for “Other”: Apple boss Steve Jobs is the king of snakeoil salesmen, and his Macworld Expo keynote included a great example of manipulation. It’s a shame Jobs seems to be a fan of pseudo-3D anti-Tufteian chartjunk, but this is pretty weak sauce. What’s next? A complaint that the MacBook Air doesn’t look quite as cool in real life as it does in Apple’s promotional photographs? Schofield also complains: Another great piece of deception is deciding to illustrate market share by brand. Anybody who wanted an honest appraisal of the market would look at it by operating system, because there are several operating sytems used by many different smartphone suppliers. Exactly as with its computer business, Apple, unlike Microsoft, is not in the business of licensing an operating system. Apple is in the business of selling phones. ★
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Orange: 90,000 iPhones down, 310,000 to go
Orange said that it has sold 90,000 iPhones as of the end of January and reiterated its goal of selling close to half a million by the end of 2008. Whether that goal is realistic given current sales patterns is another story.Read More...
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News: Survey: Consumers moving to more advanced cell phones
Results of the latest ChangeWave consumer cell phone survey suggest that “record numbers” of consumers are abandoning their basic cell phones for more advanced, feature-rich models. The January survey of 4,182 consumers showed Apple and Research In Motion to be the major beneficiaries of this shift, with the iPhone the top choice among respondents planning to purchase a new cell phone in the next six months. 17% of those respondents listed…
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H20 Audio: iV6 and H3
Whether you're a swimmer or you just tend to spill a lot, don't let a little liquid stop the music.
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Perian 1.1. released
Filed under: Multimedia, VideoA few weeks ago, we were talking about our must-have Mac programs on the Talkcast and one of our readers mentioned Perian; I couldn't agree more. For anyone unfamiliar, Perian is a plugin that allows QuickTime to playback all kind of popular video formats (.AVI, .MKV, .FLV and more). It's a great utility for anyone who watches video on their Mac. Back in December, Erica wrote about the 1.1 beta; well beta testing is over and Perian 1.1 is available now!Here's a rundown of some of the improvements since the last update, taken from Perian's update page: Major performance improvements TrueAudio, MP1, and DTS audio support Slice-based multithreaded decoding for MPEG-1/2/H.264 Apple H.264 now handles AVCHD/interlaced video Compatibility fixes for QuickTime 7.4 and Leopard Objective-C GC compatibility Fixed a crash in Toast Better subtitle rendering Subtitles play during MKV loading Snow support Miscellaneous bug fixes Perian is free (donations are accepted) and requires at least OS X 10.4.7Thanks Robert!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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This Day: February 7, 1981: A Plane Ride Gives a New Perspective to Woz
Apple went public and Steve Wozniak found himself in a position he had not imagined a scant few years earlier: he was suddenly a millionaire a hundred times over. What do you do when you have more money than you can spend? If you’re Steve Wozniak you keep plugging away…
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Realizing the MacBook Air’s Limitations When Diagnosing A Hardware Issue
People have been discussing the limitations and sacrifices when it comes to the MacBook Air. “You get a slimmer form factor but a slower processor.” or “The full size keyboard is nice, but what about the lack of optical drive?” or “Yeah, it's a stylish computer, but no user replaceable…
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Apple slashing hardware production due to fewer expected orders
According to one analyst, Apple has reduced its internal sales forecasts, and is once again reducing iPod, iPhone, and MacBook orders.Read More...
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Is this Val Kilmer or Steve Wozniak?
I was posting another Knight Rider related story over at TV Jab - and it became necessary for me to find a picture of Val Kilmer (since he has replaced Will Arnett as the voice of KITT in the series) - and low and behold, look what I found: You throw just a little more gray into that beard, and old Val is looking like a certain Apple co-founder… If they make a 'Pirates of Silicon Valley' remake - Val has the job nailed.
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iPhone Could Be Coming To Japan, Again
It’s well known Apple is in talks with DoCoMo to bring the iPhone to Japan and after a period of inactivity, it’s revved up again. Electronista is reporting that DoCoMo and Apple are concerned about the underlying technology that would power the iPhone. Instead of bringing…
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Upgrade to 16GB iPhone without changing contract
Filed under: iPhoneiLounge is reporting that some people have received incorrect information when contacting AT&T about upgrading their 4GB or 8GB iPhones to the new 16GB iPhone. In a recent thread on the Apple Discussions, an Apple employee "Nathan C." said that you can just replace the SIM with your current iPhone's SIM. He later updated his post saying, "My apologies these steps may not work. You may need to activate it with the new SIM choosing the option to "replace" an existing phone on your account."Mark Siegel who is the Executive Director of Media and Analyst Relations with AT&T emailed iLounge to tell them that if you choose to upgrade your iPhone from 4 or 8GB to the new 16GB, your contract will be backdated to the starting point of your original iPhone's activation date. He went on to say that iPhone customers should use the SIM that came with their iPhone. [via iLounge]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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News: Free to offer jailbroken iPhones unlimited calls in France
French internet provider Iliad has announced that subscribers to its Free brand using jailbroken iPhones (and iPod touch units with a VoIP microphone attached) can make unlimited calls to French fixed, land-line numbers. Free is offering complete instructions for the calling process, which involves installing Siphon, a SIP-VoIP application developed by Touchmods, on its website. As Free was the first company to donate an iPhone to the Touchmods team,…
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Convert Pages 3 full underlines to per-word underlines
I write books about Photoshop and web stuff. Since 2004, I've been using Pages to do all the work, and I never regretted leaving Word behind forever. After recently updating to Pages 3 (in iWork '08), and revising a book for its third edition, I noticed that all titles I have created in Pages 1 and 2 using per-word underlines were converted to full underlined paragraphs. As an example, here's a before-and-after view of a sample title: This is a title ... This is a title So, I was forced to build the following AppleScript code to solve this mess: tell application "Pages" tell front document repeat with one_paragraph in paragraphs if paragraph style of one_paragraph i...
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Change the rotating font in the iDVD 08 Revolution theme
iDVD 08 has a great theme called Revolution. On a given menu page, the theme shows a picture/movie on a revolving vertical cylinder flanked by rotating text, and a static text element for the title of that menu page. The cool thing is that as you change the title for the menu page, the rotating text updates to match. In addition, Apple allows you to specify not only the text of that title, but also the font and size. However, the revolving text, while its content changes to reflect any changes you make to the text of the title, does not change to reflect the font you have selected for the title; it always remains Futura. I wanted to use this theme, but wanted the rotating text to reflect the font I used for the title, and which we use for all our corporate needs. After a bit of investigation, I figured it out. First, open a blank project with the Revolution Theme, change the title to the font you want for the revolving text, save it as a Favorite Theme and quit iDV...
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Simulating an encrypted physical disk in OS X
I've always wanted to have a fully encrypted memory stick which when plugged in, OS X would automatically ask me for a password before mounting it. As far as I know (and from what tests I carried out), it's not possible to create an encrypted disk image and overwrite the entire device with it. My solution involves placing a hidden encrypted disk image on a device, hiding the volume itself so it doesn't show up in the desktop, and applying a Folder Action to the /Volumes folder which takes care of mounting the encrypted image when the device is plugged in, and unmounting the device when the encrypted image is ejected. No Terminal access necessary: an AppleScript droplet for preparing the device, the Folder Action AppleScript, and an AppleScript for restoring the device are provided here. The scripts are tested in 10.5.1, but they really should work in ...
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Avoid key presses when in Exposé's Show Desktop mode
I accidentally found this bug today. I was in TextEdit and hit my F11 (Exposé - Show Desktop) key by mistake when I was reaching for the Delete key. So I hit the F11 key again to bring back my work, and found out that if you hit the F11 key and then hit any qwerty keys (including the Delete key) it will affect any document, or even text input areas in a web browser. I tested this in TextEdit, Safari, Adium, and Word on 10.5 and 10.4. So if you use F11, be careful not to press any qwerty keys while in that mode.
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iPhoto books final come to Australia and New Zealand
Australian and New Zealand residents can now, finally, order Photobooks, calendars, postcards, and prints directly from iPhone. A feature that we've had in the states for over two years. Before this official release customers wanting to use the service had to either use a third party solution, or have a friend in the US. Picturebooks start at $39.99, calendars are $26.99, while postcards and greeting cards range from $1.99 to $2.69 with individual prints running 29 cents. To use the new service you will have to have iLife '08, and you'll have to upgrade iPhoto to version 7.1.2. via apc
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Vista SP1 riding the torrents, breaking Ballmer's heart
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops For those of you who simply can't wait one more second to get your hands on one of the more hyped updates in recent memory, Vista SP1, you're in luck. According to a report (and our BitTorrent client, chugging along in the background), the new service pack has been leaked, then promptly made available for your forbidden downloading pleasure. Apparently, the full install doesn't provide you with an upgrade option, so make sure you backup necessary files (like those pictures of Mom, apple pie, etc.). PC World offers a highly detailed report on how many seeders and / or leechers were available at the time its article was written, but we'll spare you. Suffice to say, it's there for the taking. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Under The Radar News - Thursday
What credit crisis? Famed investor Warren Buffett (BRK.A) does not believe there is a credit crunch. Cash can be obtained cheaply, Buffett says. He predicts the dollar will continue to fall over the next decade if gov't policies don't change. Buffett called financial sector woes "poetic justice" for bankers who designed and sold overly complex investments.
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Meet TrueCrypt, the new Mac encryption utility on the block
Version 5 of the TrueCrypt encryption utility has been released, and now runs on OS X in addition to Windows and Linux.Read More...
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New iPhone and iPod touch Safari exploit discovered
Filed under: CellphonesIt's difficult to tell if this is just a little fear-mongering, or cause for real concern, but it looks like there's another iPhone / touch exploit out there lurking on the unseen horizons of the device's browsers. According to reports, a memory exploit -- similar to the previously-patched TIFF exploit -- has been discovered which affects units with firmware 1.0.2 all the way up to 1.1.3, thus carrying over to new 16GB iPhones and 32GB touches. Apparently, all you have to do is browse over to a site containing the malicious code, and it triggers a memory-exhausting script which causes the phone or iPod to crash. At this point, it doesn't appear to be anything more than a nuisance which can be easily circumvented by disabling JavaScript for Safari, though that hardly qualifies as a fix. To date, Apple hasn't issued a patch for the problem, but keep in mind it's only been a known issue since January 24th.[Via iPhone World] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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So just what happens to your At&t contract when you get a new iPhone?
If you're a current 4 or 8 gb iPhone owner, you might be thinking about buying one of those new 16 gb iPhones - but what happens to that new 2-year agreement you have to pick up along with those additional gigs? Well, for a while there it looked like you were going to have to start that 2 year contract over…which would be a clever way to keep people locked into At&t for eternity. It's just evil enough that it wouldn't have surprised me if At&t had done it…and if you talk to lower level customer reps they might say that's exactly what's going on…BUT…luckily, the At&t higher-ups have made it clear that while you are signing a new contract when you purchase a new iPhone, that contract is back-dated to the date of your original At&t iPhone contract.
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News: FolioLink announces iPhone-optimized portfolio interface
FolioLink, an online portfolio service for photographers, artists and creative design professionals, has announced a new version of its service that automatically optimizes clients' online portfolios for the iPhone and iPod touch interface. According to the company, all FolioLink Flash templates automatically morph into a compatible version for iPhone and iPod touch users, allowing visitors using the devices to navigate using taps, drags, and…
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Beyond iTunes: Third-Party Apps Add Spice
You don't need to rely on Apple to improve iTunes, the market-leading music-management software. I've been using two services that have made iTunes more useful and, when buying music, more affordable. First, let's take an overdue spin through Amazon.com's MP3 store before I tell you about a nifty way to replicate your iTunes library among multiple computers. Using the Amazon MP3 store, launched in the fall, I saved $5 compared with the price I would have paid at the iTunes store for the three albums I bought. The best part: The albums downloaded directly to my iTunes library.
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Air T vs. Apple? Not Even Close
Intrinsic value in action To better help us understand Intrinsic Value, let's look at two completely different companies. Both are making money and doing fairly well.
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Toshiba updates Gigabeat lineup from obscure to niche
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video There was a time not too long ago when Microsoft and Toshina seemed poised to make the Gigabeat a household name. That all changed when Microsoft killed PMC and then blazed a manufacturing trail of its own with the second generation Zune. Nevertheless, Toshiba trudges on with enhancements to their Gigabeat U-, V-, and T-series of audio and video players. The ¥34,800 V81 doubles the flash to 8GB while tweaking the 1Seg recording capabilities. The ¥15,800 U407 and U408 are just 4GB updates to their 1GB/2GB sibs while sporting an enhanced GUI. The ¥29,800 T802 (pictured) then, is just a T401 with double the flash (8GB) and new deal to make the wildly popular (in Japan) GyaO video service available for download from NTT hotspots around Japan. Right, the Japanese rough-equivalent of the domestic iPod, Starbucks, T-Mobile, and iTunes mashup. Well, at least you've got your HD DVD business to fall back on Toshiba. Oh... right.[Via Akihabara News]Read -- T802Read -- V81Read -- U407/U408 Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mac OS Ken: 02.07.2008
AT&T Extending 3G Coverage Across the U.S. / AT&T Buy: Extending WiFi Across the U.S. / Apple France Wins iPod Counterfeit Suit / Apple Updates QuickTime to 7.4.1 / Akamai Technologies Still Powering iTunes / Woz Posts Segway Polo How to at Neulio.com / (Watch Woz at Neulio.com) / Report: Mac Users Top Windows Users in Sex Toy Spending
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Review: Into Mail stationary? Check out Stationary Pack
Posted by Dennis Sellersequinux's Stationary Pack for Mac OS X 10.5 (“Leopard”) Mail) is a great add-on if you really love using the Stationary feature in the software. However, I rarely use it that much so the Station Pack's delights are lost on me.
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Some final thoughts (for now) on the next iMac rev
Posted by Dennis SellersI've penned a couple of columns—on Feb. 1 and Feb. 6—on the next rev of the iMac. I'd like to offer one final (at least for now) column on the subject.
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iPhone Now In 2nd Place In The US Smartphone Race, 3rd Globally
Figures released from research firm Canalys show that Apple’s iPhone in now second only to RIM (Blackberry) in the US smartphone market. In the 4th quarter of 2007, the iPhone surged to a 28% share of the US converged device market behind RIM’s 41%, but ahead of 3rd third placed Palm on 9%. The iPhone was ahead of all Windows Mobile device vendors combined with a market share of 21%.
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Bonjour SCX-4500W: Apple's favorite Samsung multi-function printer goes wireless
Filed under: Peripherals Samsung's sexy little multi-function, monochrome laser printer, copier, and color scanner just hit the FCC with a tiny surprise: 802.11b/g WiFi and 10/100 Ethernet. That's right, Sammy's Swan (aka, SCX-4500) now comes in a SCX-4500W version supporting Windows, Mac, and Linux machines; LPR, IPP/HTTP, DHCP, and BOOTP protocols; and WEP or WPA Personal WiFi encryption. As a bonus, it also supports Bonjour to make network detection for your Mac (and suitably installed PCs) a snap. Not really a surprise since the SCX-4500W made its first US appearance exclusively in Apple's retail stores. No word on when it will pop for retail, but we expect it to snag a $300 or so price tag. FCC glamor shot after the break.Continue reading Bonjour SCX-4500W: Apple's favorite Samsung multi-function printer goes wireless Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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You can check Gmail with Apple Remote
Posted by Dennis SellersGmail user Vic Shih has released a set of actions for controlling Gmail via the Apple Remote Control. Setting this up is a little tricky, but there are instructions here.
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Maccast 2008.02.06 - Macworld 2008 Crumpler
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. A special episode of the Maccast from Macworld 2008. I sit down with the folks at Crumpler and we talk about their great line-up of hipster chic bags. We talk about their newest line-up of briefcase style bags, get the rundown on how the company was founded, and get some insight on just how they come up with all those funky bag names. Subscribe to the Podcast Feed or Get the MP3
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Freeverse releases Neon Tango, a retro-style arcade shooter
Freeverse has announced a new game called Neon Tango. It's a psychedelic arcade-style shooter with lots of action, seizure-inducing visuals, and a bit of that retro mojo that's been going around lately. In the game, you take your ship into battle against the forces of chaos across 50 stages of bitmapped treachery, overflowing with glowing enemies and pulsating bosses. Each wave offers a brand... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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Ecotopias Aren't Just for Hippies Anymore -- and They're Sprouting Up Worldwide
The race for the first carbon-neutral, zero-emissions community is on, from Costa Rica to Libya to an island in San Francisco Bay.