Nov 23, 2008 Nov 25, 2008 Monday November 24, 2008
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New Apple Notebook Ad Goes Green
Apple released a new Ad this evening touting the green aspects of its new MacBooks. The ad showcases Apple's environmental friendliness with the "World's Greenest Family of Notebooks." Check out the new ad below. read more
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Apple Still Battling the Clone Wars
In an interesting turn of events, Apple might actually be the one taking in hot water in its case against Psystar. Though Apple’s original plan was to chastise Psystar for producing Mac clones, a recent filing shows that Apple icould be under fire for failing to keep common documents and emails archived for easy access. read more
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iPod touch Speedier Than iPhone?
read more
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POLL: What is the BEST Apple Product of 2008?
Sure, we still have a little over a month to go before the end of the year, but it's safe to say that Apple is done offering up new products in 2008. Looking back on the developments of the year, there are some pretty impressive things that have come out of 2008 in regards to Apple releases. I'm curious, though, as to what you think is the BEST of these amazing products. Here are the contenders: 1) Macbook Air - Apple kicked off the year by showing us this extremely thin, extremely portable, addition to the Apple notebook family. It's amazing, no doubt - but is it the best? 2) iPhone 3G - Apple's second generation iPhone features an even sleeker design, GPS, 3G speed, and more - is that enough to put it over the top? 3) Unibody Macbook and Macbook Pros - These next generation notebooks feature a unibody design, a refreshed look, and a great price point for the power they contain…but is even that enough to defeat the iPhone 3G and Macbook Air? 4) Other - Cinema Displays? The App Store? iTunes 8? the iPhone OS 2? Do any of these things overtake the other options on the list (btw - if you think the App Store or iPhone OS should be included in the iPhone 3G…just vote for the 3G…they're here because they are available for the original iPhone as well.)
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Pandigital introduces PhotoLink portable photo scanner
Posted by Dennis SellersPandigital, a provider of digital photo frames in the United States, has introduced the PhotoLink Handheld Scanner, an US$99 portable handheld photo scanner designed to give customers a way to transfer digital images into digital photo frames and computers.
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Kenwood's CR-iP500 will do the All Black haka with your iPod
No, it's not a Doomsday clock, ticking away the precious seconds of your brief mortality. It's just another iPod dock, the CR-iP500 from Kenwood. The 371 x 175 x 187-mm globule of thump brings a pair of amplified 5W speakers, a built-in FM tuner, slot-in CD player, and a USB 2.0 jack to playback unprotected WMA and MP3 audio files off USB sticks. Yeah, iPods too, just as long as you don't stretch the definition to include the iPhone which this dock doesn't appear to support. Expected to hit Japan for ¥27,000 (about $280) in early December. Update: Oh Kenwood, turns out your dock is just a rebadge of the LG PC12 already on sale in the US and elsewhere for $250 MSRP.[Via Impress and Akihabara News, thanks PABLO]Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable AudioKenwood's CR-iP500 will do the All Black haka with your iPod originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 01:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Intel, Micron move into mass production with 34nm NAND flash
Posted by Dennis Sellers Intel and Micron Technology have announced mass production of their jointly developed 34nm, 32GB, multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory device.
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Macsimum iPhone Video: How to install a hard drive in a MacBook (Late 2008)
Posted by Dave MertenToday's Macsimum iPhone video demonstrates how to install a hard drive in a MacBook (Late 2008). The process is quite easy and only takes about fifteen minutes.
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INM Impressario 4 released for Adobe Director 11
Posted by Dennis SellersIntegration New Media, creator of Xtras for Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Director, has announced the latest version of INM Impressario, its flagship Xtra for integrating PDFs into multimedia projects within Adobe Director 11.
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'Tech Night Owl LIVE' looks Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Posted by Dennis SellersOn the new Tech Night Owl LIVE podcast, host/pundit Gene “the Night Owl” Steinberg welcomes Frederick Johnson, product marketing manager for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Special Correspondent David Biedny.
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Hitachi announces CP-X10000 3LCD projector
Posted by Dennis SellersHitachi Home Electronics (America) has announced the Professional Series, CP-X10000 3LCD projector. The CP-X10000 projector is the first model to be introduced from the Professional Series, offering a brightness of 7,500 ANSI lumens as well as a 2500:1 contrast ratio.
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'Tech Night Owl LIVE' says 'so far, so good' to iPhone 2.2
Posted by Dennis SellersOn the new Tech Night Owl LIVE editorial, host/pundit Gene “the Night Owl” Steinberg looks at the iPhone 2.2 update.
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Blockbuster joins the movie set-top-box game with 2Wire MediaPoint player
We've rubbed our eyes four or five times now, but the factual heat remains: Blockbuster -- of all companies -- has decided to dive headfirst into the movie set-top-box arena. We wanted to believe the rumors were false, but sure enough, it has joined VUDU, Apple TV, Roku and the Xbox 360 in the highly competitive market place for your digital download dollars. For a "limited time," the outfit will offer the 2Wire-built MediaPoint player for free with the "advance rental of 25 first-run movies, TV shows, foreign or classic films from Blockbuster On-Demand (previously Movielink) for $99." After that, rentals are $1.99 apiece, and a Blockbuster subscription is not required. The unit itself measures 8- x 8- x 1-inch and includes two USB ports, an SD slot, Ethernet / WiFi and an HDMI port, and it should be available at the company's website and in select retail stores very soon. So, are you interested in the à la carte approach?Blockbuster joins the movie set-top-box game with 2Wire MediaPoint player originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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★ Treating URL Protocol Schemes as Cruft
One of the more visible changes in last week’s iPhone OS 2.2 update is a new toolbar in Safari. Here’s the previous toolbar from Safari in iPhone OS 2.1: It now looks like this: The new toolbar looks much more like an iPhone-sized version of the desktop Safari toolbar, with the rectangular location text field on the left and the oval search text field on the right. But the new toolbar is functionally equivalent to the old one, with the same three tappable targets: location field, search, and reload. I prefer the old 2.1 toolbar, but, at this point, I’m hesitant to say that the reason amounts to anything more than 17 months of (very frequent) habit. Here’s what the differences amount to: The location field is shorter, so you see less of the URL. The reload button seems to be a smaller target, and, because it’s so close to the search field, it seems too easy to mistakenly tap the search field when aiming for the reload button. The search field is now a bigger target, and therefore easier to tap, but the old 2.1 search button never felt too small to me. They’ve made something bigger that was already big enough. So two of the three items in the toolbar have been made worse at the expense of improving the other one needlessly. But I have a theory why Apple did this anyway. My guess is that testing showed that many iPhone users didn’t know that the magnifying glass in the toolbar was a button they could tap to start a web search. The new layout makes it unambiguous what the search item in the toolbar does, and that may well make the small usability hit to the size of the location field and reload button worth it. To make better use of the available space in the location field, Safari no longer shows the “http://” or “https://” protocol scheme. You do see the protocol scheme, however, when you tap the location field to edit the URL: But it’s hidden, sort of like file name extensions in the Mac OS X Finder, in the normal display view. The best argument in favor of always displaying the protocol scheme is to make it visible when you’re connected via HTTPS, but the lock icon in the location field serves the same purpose, and is almost certainly better recognized by typical users than the extra “s” in “https://”. This is a pretty clever idea, and once seen in action, it seems so obvious that I’m now surprised that the iPhone version of Safari hasn’t been doing this all along. And it makes me wonder whether the desktop version of Safari will follow this lead — space isn’t at such a premium there, but it’s always struck me as somewhat ungraceful that we spend all day staring at dozens of URLs that all start with the same repetitive prefix.
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'MacVoices' looks at syncing data in Leopard
Posted by Dennis SellersOn the new MacVoicesMichael Cohen, author of Take Control of Syncing Data in Leopard, looks at the new sync options in the Mac operating system.
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Hotfix Update: Parallels Desktop 4.0 Build 3540 is available
Posted by Dave MertenParallels has launched a new build for Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac. Parallels continues to refine PDfM 4.0 to improve the customer experience. Below is a list of improvements and bug fixes.
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New, free iPhone app connects users with social networks
Posted by Dennis SellersZumobi has released Ziibii, a free iPhone App now available on iTunes. Ziibii offers a new way to stay in-touch and in-the-loop with friends, photos and the world around them.
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On Apple In-Ear Headphones and Nano alternatives--Ask the Editors
CNET editor Jasmine France answers all of your questions about MP3 players, accessories, headphones, and more in this regular Ask the Editors feature.
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McCartney: Talks to get Beatles on iTunes stalled
Impasse is apparently between Beatles representatives and record label EMI, according to a published report.
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Firmware 2.2 Finally Jailbroken
QuickPWN has already managed jailbreaking the iPhone’s 2.2 firmware updates, thanks to the incredible efforts of their own developer team. QuickPWN 2.2 is already available for free for both Windows and Mac users.read more
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Shields Up! Twelve Security Holes Fixed by New iPhone/iPod touch Firmware
Weldon did a phenomenal job covering the visible and functional changes in the iPhone/iPod touch 2.2 firmware release. If you are holding off on the update, or just haven't gotten to it yet, you may want to pencil in some time with iTunes as there are a twelve security fixes in this firmware release, each of which leaves your device and/or data vulnerable to attack. CVE-2008-4228 & CVE-2008-4229 & CVE-2008-4230 – Passcode Lock – iPhone provides the ability to make an emergency call when locked. Currently, an emergency call may be placed to any number. A person with physical access to an iPhone may take advantage of this feature to place arbitrary calls which are charged to the iPhone owner. This update addresses the issue by restricting emergency calls to a limited set of phone numbers. Also, a person with physical access to the device had the ability (under certain circumstances) to launch applications without the passcode and if an SMS message arrived while the emergency call screen was visible, the entire SMS message would have been displayed, even if the “Show SMS Preview” preference was set to “OFF”. CVE-2008-2327 & CVE-2008-1586 – ImageIO – Viewing a TIFF image that was crafted to take advantage of poorly coded compression libraries could lead to attackers running any code they choose (i.e. arbitrary code execution) on your system or cause system instability/force a reset (Denial of Serivce/DoS) CVE-2008-2321 – CoreGraphics – Very similar to the ImageIO problem, this involves attackers using a specially crafted web site to achieve the same results CVE-2008-4227 – Networking – Your PPTP VPN connections may not be as strongly encrypted as they should be CVE-2008-4211 – Office Viewer – If you view Excel files on your device, you are susceptible to arbitrary code execution or DoS attacks CVE-2008-4231 & CVE-2008-4232 & CVE-2008-4233 – Safari – Nasty HTML TABLES (and, when are HTML TABLES not nasty?) and insidious IFRAMEs lead the list of Safari problems, but a particularly tricky bug regarding phone calls you did not deliberately make is now fixed by Apple properly dismissing Safari's call approval dialogs when an application is being launched via Safari. CVE-2008-3644 – WebKit – Even if you were a good web programmer and disabled autocomplete on “sensitive” form fields, Mobile Safari may still have saved that field data in the browser page cache. Individuals with physical access to the device could pretty easily gain access to that information. Organizations that allow iPhones to be used for business purposes should do their best to ensure all users are upgraded as soon as possible. Individuals should take note of the reduced security posture prior to the 2.2 firmware and make their own risk-based decisions (but upgrading gets you the cool new Street View, so go ahead and upgrade now!).
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Technology continues to be hot button issue for families
Posted by Dennis SellersOnly seven percent of parents, when asked about their family's technology use, said they typically buy the latest and greatest gadgets and 53 percent said they choose to buy new technology when prices drop.
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Springsteen track available for free at iTunes—for limited time
Posted by Dennis SellersBruce Springsteen has reached an arrangement with iTunes under which his new single is being made available for at the iTunes Store—but only for today.
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How to sell an iPhone app for $9.99
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touchMarco over on the Instapaper blog (which, of course, is the blog of the app Instapaper), posted a really interesting commentary recently on a subject we've been following since the beginning: App Store pricing. As we've said before, it's a strange thing -- developers want higher prices so that they can put more effort into making iPhone apps better. But customers have a perception already that anything above $5 in the App Store just isn't worth it.So Marco offers his take: he's been selling an app in the store for $9.99, and it's going just fine. He has tips for how developers can sell their own apps for a higher price, and he settles on some good compromises for everybody: deliver a real value with your app (as economists know, an app is worth what people are wiling to pay for it, so if you produce an app that is worth $10, people will happily spend that much). Respect yourself as a developer, and don't cower to cheapskates (some people won't be happy with anything, even when it's free). And perhaps most importantly: offer a free version.That last one may be the key -- our own Michael Rose was sold on Instapaper only when he tried it out. More and more, I'm thinking that it was a major mistake on Apple's part not to allow developers to easily offer demos and upgrades in the same app -- people are willing to spend money on an app that's worth it, but not if they aren't sure, and trying it goes a long way to making sure. I'm not in favor of app store developers banding together to raise prices, but Marco is right: if you make an app that's worth $10 and put it on the App Store for $9.99 (with an easy way to demo it out), people will come and buy it.TUAWHow to sell an iPhone app for $9.99 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Gizmodo Reviews Opera Mini 4.2 Beta for Android
Doesn’t sound fully baked. And using the Android hardware Back button this way sounds like it’s completely against the Android interface guidelines. Something like this wouldn’t fly on the iPhone. (Opera Mini is the cross-platform mobile-optimized version of Opera that I wrote about a few weeks ago.) ★
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Poll: do you plan to buy an electronic items over 'Black Friday' weekend?
Posted by Dennis SellersIn this week's Macsimum Poll, we're asking if any of you plan to buy electronics items on “Black Friday” (the Friday after Thanksgiving) or over the long holiday weekend. The poll is located on the right hand side of the home page under the Macsimum Opinion.
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Beatles-iTunes negotiations stall
Posted by Dennis SellersPaul McCartney says negotiations on a long-awaited deal to make the Beatles catalog available on online music service iTunes have stalled, reports the Associated Press.
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Apple updates Safari to version 3.2.1
Posted by Dennis SellersApple has posted Safari 3.2.1 updates for both Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5. Apple hasn't posted any comments on what's new in the update.
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Report: Second-gen iPod touch faster than your iPhone
You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but one developer claims that the second-generation iPod touch is much faster than any of Apple's other multitouch devices. That includes the newest iPhone.Read More...
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The MUG Event Calendar': Red One camera, 'Gadgets for Christmas,' more
Posted by Dennis SellersThe MUG Event Calendar is a bit slow this week, thanks to the U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday, but slow doesn't mean non-existent.
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Big Apple, Microsoft names back stock-picking site
Apple co-founder Mike Markkula and Microsoft executive Mike McCue are backing an Internet start-up designed to let stock-market investors trade on the collective wisdom of its users.
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HandBrake 0.9.3 accepts any files, boosts encoding quality
HandBrake 0.9.3 is out, but you could almost call it a 1.0. Over 600 changes arrived, led by the addition of support for transcoding existing files and dramatically improved H.264 encoding quality. Strangely, though, HandBrake actually lost one of its most fundamental features in this new version.Read More...
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Apple releases Safari 3.2.1
Filed under: Software Update Apple just updated Safari to version 3.2.1. According to Software Update, "This update includes stability improvements and is recommended for all Safari users." Apple updated Safari only a few weeks ago, adding protection from phishing websites. If you've been paying attention to the Apple updates this week, then you know that they've done some heavy updating in this area. The past few days have seen updates to iPhone/iPod touch, iTunes, Apple TV, Pro Applications, Trackpad, and QuickTime.You can get the Safari update, or any other updates you might be missing, by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update). You can also download the installer packages from the Apple Support Downloads website.Thanks to monu, and others for the tips! TUAWApple releases Safari 3.2.1 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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TapeDeck discounted for National Day of Listening
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Cool tools, Odds and ends, Deals, Holidays I don't know that I've heard of the National Day of Listening before, but I like the idea a lot -- right around the holidays, StoryCorps and NPR sponsor a day when you're meant to sit down with loved ones and pick up some of that oral history that has served the human race so well so far. And the folks at Toasty Code are doing their part to get these recordings done by offering their TapeDeck audio recording software for 20% off all this week -- just follow the instructions on their website, and you too can pick up any oral history your folks can dish out along with the turkey and cranberries.Of course you can do that with any software, from GarageBand (came free with your Mac) to Audacity (free to anyone). And it doesn't need to be only audio -- I'm taking a new Flip MinoHD home for the holidays with me to get some shots of my folks in my childhood home (they're currently trying to sell it off). But the Day of Listening is a great idea no matter what you use -- in these days of high definition, 1080p television, multichannel speaker setups, ubiquitous computing, and the 24/7 flow of text across blogs, Tumblrs and Twitter, it's easy to forget the value of actually sitting down and talking to someone. This week, as you're home with family, try it out.TUAWTapeDeck discounted for National Day of Listening originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mac Office 2008 Special Media Edition 75% off for Black Friday
Get the ultimate edition of Office 2008 for Mac for less than $150 this Thursday and Friday only. Black Friday deals ahoy!Read More...
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First Look: iPhone/iPod touch Software Update 2.2
Now we know that REI sells paddle accessories. Hopefully for kayaking. read more
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Profile of an iPhone User: Interesting Statistics About Yourself
As a mobile device, the iPhone crosses several different user groups. From business users to media junkies, a wide range of people use the iPhone in a variety of different ways. The App Store is fueling this variation even further on account of the huge array of different applications available. A few pieces of research have been conducted that give an interesting glimpse into the profile of iPhone users, and the main activities they choose to perform with their device. This post will summarize a few different results and draw some interesting comparisons between the uses of an iPhone compared to other mobile phones. (more…)
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Dumping the iPhone 2.2 Frameworks
The iPhone 2.2 Frameworks, caloo calay Are no longer under NDA. o dump them now, dump them today, To open up your SDK. Hooray.Read More...
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Opportunities in Undervalued Stocks
The market continued its march downward and, even after a relatively large Friday rally, the S&P 500 still finished down 8.4%. The price-to-peak earnings ratio has again reached another low at 9.0x. Clearly, this valuation metric is closely following the market as we are no longer anywhere near peak earnings levels. In fact, by our calculations earnings at present are just two-thirds of record earnings for the S&P 500, a level that was reached in the summer of 2007. This is an extreme situation that does not occur often. Many stocks are selling at or near book value. Think about the significance of that for a moment. Equity in the company is valued near what the company could sell its tangible assets (minus liabilities) for in a fire sale today. Now, remember that stocks are a claim on future cash flows, and those cash flows in the current market are almost completely discounted. We continue to believe that for long-term value investors, this is very enticing time to be cautiously investing in those stocks least affected by the credit and housing crises. We think it is reasonable to assume that companies which have continued to improve fundamental metrics–such as sales and cash flow–are a good place to start. Companies that have a lot of cash on hand (and little debt) will be in a great position to take advantage of the downturn either by protecting against a slowdown or by buying out competitors without the need for extensive financing. Every company will be affected to some extent by nationwide deleveraging but stocks that can produce strong cash flow will be the quickest to recover. Companies that fit this description include: Apple (AAPL), Boeing (BA), Google (GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT).
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Contacts App No Longer Cheats With Dynamic ‘default.png’
Tom Insam notes that the iPhone Contacts app no longer uses the dynamic default.png cheat — it simply launches and starts much faster than it used to. ★
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Apple software updates for Nov. 24
Posted by Dennis SellersTranslateIt! for Mac, a multilingual dictionary that allows looking up words on the fly, has been updated to version 9.8. The upgrade adds: a new dictionary context menu item, automatic dictionary updates from an external repository server, Growl notification and more.
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Tech Stocks: Broad market surge as Qualcomm, Apple, IBM pace sector
U.S. technology stocks closed sharply higher amid a broad market upswing as investors cheered the announcement of a massive plan to prevent a collapse of Citigroup.
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Nov. 24 'Macsimum Podcast' now available
Posted by Dennis SellersThe Macsimum Podcast for Nov. 24 is now available here and the RSS feed is here.
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'Macsimum Recommended Reading' for Nov. 24
Posted by Dennis SellersApple Notebooks Take Huge Performance Hit without Battery: Ever run your MacBook or MacBook Pro without the battery installed? Most people don't, but some notebook users pop them out when their systems are running on AC with hopes of extending the life of their battery by a few months.”—Gearlog
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Apple Gazette Daily 386 - Macbook AC issues, Crackulous Developer, and More!
podcast sponsor link:Click Here to check out Audible! Today's Show: Macbook AC issues, Crackulous Developer, and More! 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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Patent suit targets iPhone, all mobile web pages ever
EMG Technology has filed suit against Apple for violating its patent on "manipulating a region on a wireless device screen for viewing, zooming, and scrolling Internet content." Oh, and EMG's attorney feels that all mobile-formatted web pages fall under the patent as well. Read More...
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Article: iPhone Gems: Puzzle, Board + Mystery Games
This week's gaming edition of iPhone Gems looks at seven games that may, on the surface, have little in common. One of them—the first-person shooter Cube—is entirely unlike the others. But the remaining six titles are thought-provoking puzzle, board, card, and mystery games, some highly original, and others not so much. Our hands-down pick of the week is Touch Physics, followed by Lux Touch and Uno. But there are lots of titles here…
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Benchmarking After Effects CS4 on Mac OS X and Windows Vista
Kevin Schmitt benchmarks Adobe’s After Effects CS4 on Leopard and Vista. The results are ugly: Cripes, the Mac OS X version of After Effects is absolutely smoked again, and the results are slightly worse than last time in places. Either Adobe isn’t tuning After Effects on the Mac at all, or tuning the buhjeezus out of the Windows versions. Hell, even single process rendering on Vista generally spanks multiple processes on Leopard, for the love of Pete. ★
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CEIVA Snap iPhone app launches
Posted by Dennis SellersCEIVA Logic, an inventor and supplier of leading digital photo frames, has released of the CEIVA Snap iPhone application. Now available for download on the Apple Apple Store and on the CEIVA web site, CEIVA Snap enables users to send photos from their iPhone directly to a CEIVA frame from...
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Apple: Analysts Adjust Estimates While Remaining Bullish
There were some conflicting shifts in earnings estimates this morning for Apple (AAPL). The Street is noodling around about the impact on iPod, Mac and iPhone sales of several key issues: the economic downturn, iPod saturation, the explosion of the smartphone market - and the entrance into the market of new competition, and the impact of netbooks on the PC sector. Here's a rundown on Monday morning's calls; note that in every case the analyst continues to recommend the stock:Oppenheimer's Yair Reiner trimmed his iPhone targets, but raised his MacBook forecasts, and increased his gross margin estimate. For iPhones, he now sees 4.8 million units in the December quarter, down from 7.5 million. His FY '09 unit forecast drops to 21.3 million from 27 million. He also sees lower ASPs then previously, due to the impact of the strong dollar on international sales. On the other hand, he raised his Q1 MacBook estimate to 1.61 million from 1.54 million; for desktops, he trims to 960,000, from 1.02 million. His gross margin estimate for the quarter increases to 31.5% from 31%, to reflect lower component pricing. The result of all that: his Q1 EPS estimate moves up to $1.39, from $1.36, but for '09 he goes to $5.43, from $5.53. Reinter maintains his Outperform rating, and asserts that the company “will continue to peel away users from the Windows mold.” Conclude Reiner: “at 8.5x trailing free cash flow, we banadage our wounds and keep buying.”J.P. Morgan's Mark Moskowitz also trimmed estimates on the iPhone, though he has much higher numbers than Reiner: he sees 7.1 million for the quarter and 26.7 million for the year. He says that the new Research In Momentum (RIMM) BlackBerry Storm “is no Apple iPhone,” but that “the Verizon Wireless network and Storm's interface with corporate e-mail servers could be threats to the iPhone.” He also says that Mac momentum in notebooks in increasing; but he says iPod units are likely to decline year over year in both the quarter and fiscal year. Moskowitz lifted his EPS estimates: for the quarter he now sees $1.38, up from $1.29, and for the fiscal year, $4.86, up from $4.53. For FY 2010, he now sees $5.34, up from $4.83. He maintains an Overweight rating on the stock.Thomas Weisel analyst Doug Reid Monday morning trimmed his 2009 EPS estimate to $5.48, from $5.59. Reid has become more positive on the iPhone, upping his calendar 2009 unit forecast to 24.8 million from 22.5 million. On the other hand, he has become more cautious on Mac units, citing concerns about weakening consumer confidence. He now sees calendar 2009 units of 10.5 million, down from 11.1 million. Reid maintains his Overweight rating on the stock.FTN Midwest analyst Bill Fearnley Monday repeated his Buy rating on the stock, asserting that sales were above plan in October, and off to a strong starte in November. He iPhone sales in the U.S. are in line with plan. He continues to see '09 EPS of $5.57 a share.Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi Monday morning wrote that he sees PC unit growth in the 2007-2012 period of 9.5% a year, with 4.5% in annual revenue growth. That includes 4.5% unit growth next year, or 3% ex-netbooks, which he considers to be “the industry's biggest wildcard. He repeated his Outperform ratings this morning on Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard; he keeps his Apple target at $135. Sacconaghi writes that Apple should continue to gain share, but that “it will likely require the introduction of lower priced offerings.” Apple closed Monday up $10.37, or 12.6%, to $92.95.
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TouchArcade: Second-generation iPod touch faster than iPhone
Filed under: iPhone, iPod touchTouchArcade interviewed Handheld Games Corp's Thomas Fessler, who noted an interesting bit of the company's research: Second-generation iPod touch devices are significantly faster than their predecessors when it comes to 3D rendering. In fact, it's faster than both iPhone models as well. In its tests, the iPhone 3G ranked second, the original iPhone third, and the first-generation iPod touch lagged behind in fourth. Fessler is paraphrased in the interview, even suggesting he would not recommend anyone interested in gaming to buy a used first-generation iPod touch. The primary difference is a faster processor: The second-generation iPod touch has a 532 MHz processor. The iPhone, iPhone 3G, and first-generation iPod touch all have 412 MHz processors. Fessler also speculates in the interview that the GPU has also been improved, but has no evidence to support that claim. These performance differences may also explain why certain apps only run on second-generation iPod touch devices.TUAWTouchArcade: Second-generation iPod touch faster than iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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2nd Generation iPod Touch Faster Than iPhone?
According to Touch Arcade, the second-generation iPod Touch has a faster CPU than the iPhone 3G, original iPhone, and original iPod Touch. ★
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News: DRO Concepts rolls out Carbon Fiber iPhone 3G Case
DRO Concepts has introduced its new Carbon Fiber iPhone 3G Case. Made with four layers of material, the case — which comes in both Carbon Fiber and Texalium (an aluminum-coated fiberglass) — is lined with neoprene for added protection, and features a scratch resistant high gloss finish, open access to all ports and controls, and an included anti-static screen guard and polishing cloth. The DRO Concepts Carbon Fiber iPhone 3G Case is available…
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Optoma DLP Pico projector "coming soon" to US
The last time we saw it, Optoma's tiny Pico projector was being launched in Japan, and now it's finally been officially announced for the US. If by chance you've forgotten, the PK-101 has a 480 x 320 resolution, 9 ANSI lumens, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, gets up to 2 hours of battery life and has a 0.5 watt speaker. The most important feature of the projector of course, is its miniscule size (51 × 105 × 17-mm / 120g), which, we admit, is really, really, small. We don't have an exact release date, but we're assured that it's "coming soon" and that it'll run you about $400. [Via About Projectors] Filed under: DisplaysOptoma DLP Pico projector "coming soon" to US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Arten Science releases cross platform encryption tool
Posted by Dennis SellersArten Science has released R10Cipher, a cross platform email encryption tool that works with Mac OS X, Windows (XP and Vista) and Linux. It uses Blowfish encryption.
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New iPod Touch faster than iPhone 3G
With an ARM-based processor running at 532MHz, Apple's newest iPod Touch uses a slightly faster processor than its updated iPhone sibling, which can improve the gaming experience.
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BusinessWeek: AAPL 'ripe for the picking'
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple FinancialBusinessWeek's Gene Marcial is gushing -- gushing -- over Apple stock, suggesting they're not only a good buying opportunity for those who already own some shares, but a good entry point for those who have never owned stock in the company. "The case for Apple is simple: Its stock is cheap based mainly on strong earnings and sales growth, and the outlook for further expansion of sales and profits. And the stock's profile based on such benchmarks as its technical chart pattern and price-earnings ratio affirms Apple's attraction," he writes. Marical quotes Standard & Poor's Thomas Smith, Barclays Capital's Ben Reitzes, and Needham's Charles Wolf -- all who have their own reasons to recommend buying the stock. Of 34 analysts who track the stock, 27 recommend buying and five recommend holding. Only two suggest you sell. As of this writing, Apple was up by over $7 per share at 89.75 during a generally positive session this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up above 8,311, an increase of 265 points.TUAWBusinessWeek: AAPL 'ripe for the picking' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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How the iPhone Should Have Made the Blackberry Storm Launch Easier
There have been a lot of reviews lately regarding the new Blackberry Storm. I summarized a few myself, but things haven't improved much. While there are some bright spots, the overall tone of the reviews is that the Storm is a disappointment. Still, as a Blackberry on the Verizon network I suspect it’ll do fine regardless. Instead of dwelling on the reviews, I want to disagree with comments I’ve read that say RIM should be cut some slack because it’s a 1.0 product, which makes it the same as the iPhone’s initial release. No, not at all. RIM had it easy. From the moment it was announced, while Apple faithful may have believed, most outlets spent time mocking the iPhone. Greasy screen! Fingerprints! Car crashes because you can’t drive and text at the same time! Won’t be able to dial in bright sunlight! And on and on. Most of them were kind of silly, and a few were downright asinine. People’s memories can be short, so let’s go back in time and look at what Apple had to overcome with the iPhone. (more…)
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News: Rivet teams with Vaja, unveils three cases for iPhone 3G
As part of a new partnership with Vaja which will see it exchange ideas and product knowledge with the Argentina-based luxury leather brand, Rivet International has decided to expand its case and bag offerings, starting with three new cases for the iPhone 3G. The Hard Leather Case is a form-fitting case featuring a rigid plastic shell, leather exterior, soft interior lining, open access to all ports and controls, and an included screen protector.…
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Apple sued over tech that helps iPhone surf Web
Apple Inc is the target of a lawsuit that claims a technology the iPhone uses to surf the Web infringes on a patent filed by ...
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App Store developers stuffing the ballot box (again)
App Store developers are known for finding creative ways to game Apple’s App Store for financial gain. In July 2008 crafty developers discovered that changing the titles of their apps to include all spaces and/or special characters would make them appear at the top of the category listing in the App Store. In September 2008 developers were [...]
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First Looks: Memorex miniMove mi3x Portable Boombox for iPod
As perhaps the smallest "boombox" we've yet seen for an iPod, Memorex's new miniMove ($50) combines a purse-sized handheld speaker system, iPod dock, and FM radio into a single, sleek plastic and metal enclosure. Packed with a power supply, remote control, and Dock Adapters, miniMove can also run on four AA batteries, and has a retractable rear metal radio antenna for improved reception. Black, pink, or silver versions are available. A fun little…
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First Looks: Memorex SingStand MKS-SS1 Microphone and Speaker System for iPod
As one of two new and interesting Memorex accessories for iPod users, the SingStand ($70) is a unique amplified microphone stand and speaker system with a circular iPod dock -- of sorts -- in the middle. Built for a karaoke-like experience, an amplifier and speakers are found in SingStand's base, and a powered, handheld microphone is connected via a cable to the system. Your iPod sits inside the stand, connected via a headphone plug; you have to supply…
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Blip.tv adds iPhone support for mobile viewing
You can now watch Blip.tv videos on your iPhone. Over the weekend the service upgraded to include QuickTime streams that are playable on the portable device.
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Holiday Gift Guide 2008: Mid-range Apples that won’t break the bank
If you’ve got a couple extra bucks in your budget this year there are a couple of middle priced (US$100-300) gifts that up that I want to recommend. If this isn’t quite your price range, feel free to check out my list of Mac-related gift ideas under $100 in Bargain Apples. From 3G cards to [...]
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HandBrake 0.9.3
Not sure why the version number tweak is so minor; this seems like a major update: HandBrake is no longer limited to DVDs: it will now accept practically any type of video as a source. This massive enhancement was achieved by tapping into the power of libavcodec and libavformat from the FFmpeg project. I agree with Michael Tsai: Handbrake is the easiest way I know to convert video (especially from DVDs) for use on iPhones, iPods, and non-hacked Apple TVs. (Via Mat Lu.) ★
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SGN launches iBasketball for iPhone
Posted by Dennis SellersOn the heels of the release of the iFun game platform and to coincide with the beginning of the 2008-2009 pro-basketball season, SGN, a social gaming company, has launched iBasketball. It leverages the accelerometer mobile technology platform for the iPhone to let basketball fans, sports and gaming enthusiasts play on-the-go.
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Boxee is updated for Apple TV 2.3
Filed under: Cool tools, How-tos, Open Source, Apple TVWe've covered boxee, a fantastic media center application that can run on your Mac or Apple TV. With its attractive interface and support for Hulu, boxee is what convinced my boyfriend and me to order an Apple TV. Predictably, the day our second Apple TV arrived from Apple (the first unit broke after watching just one movie), the 2.3 software update was released, nullifying our boxee goodness.Fortunately, the boxee team has updated boxee to support 2.3. Even better, the geniuses behind USB Creator -- a tool that makes installing boxee and the XBMC on an Apple TV a snap -- have updated their awesome software to make the whole process seamless.If you want to install boxee and XMBC on your Apple TV, this is what you want to do. You will need a USB flash drive (minimum of 512 MB, though 1 GB or higher is recommended):Continue reading Boxee is updated for Apple TV 2.3TUAWBoxee is updated for Apple TV 2.3 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Inventor files patent suit over iPhone Web browsing
Apple is the target of a new patent-infringement lawsuit filed in Texas over the iPhone's ability to display Web sites reformatted for a mobile device.
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First Looks: iFrogz EarPollution Custom Fallout, NervePipe + Hype Earphones
iFrogz has taken the idea of customized earphones to an entirely new level with three brand-new products announced today in its Earpollution series: Fallout ($35), NervePipe ($35) and Hype ($20) are sold separately, each enabling you to pick several different elements of their appearance from a special customization page before purchase. Fallout, shown here in black and yellow, is an over-the-ear style traditional headphone that we customized with…
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News: Mix: Paid App Store reviews, BdEmailer OK?, Handbrake, Tetralite
According to a screenshot from Amazon's Mechanical Turk site, iPhone developer Casual Game Network attempted to pay iPhone and iPod touch users for leaving positive, 5-star reviews on the App Store for its game SantaLive 2008. In the listing, the developer offered to pay users $4 to download and then rate the $2 application, leaving them with $2 profit. When contacted regarding the offer, company CEO Adam Majewski, who is listed as the “requestor”…
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New laptop table sports two built-in USB fans
Posted by Dennis SellersArbella Enterprises has announced the availability of their new US$49.95 laptop table called the “Laptop Cool Table.” It combines a cooling pad with a laptop table and is designed to turns a laptop into a portable desktop by raising the computer to a comfortable level.
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iPhone 2.2 firmware jailbroken once again
The iPhone dev team has released iPhone 2.2 pwning tools, allowing you to jailbreak your iPhone. Read their instructions carefully before you decide whether to proceed or not.Read More...
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Apple Xserve Field Guide
Filed under: Enterprise, Apple Professional, Xserve, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac OS X ServerAttention Xserve administrators: Apple has created an Xserve Field Guide web app that can you can use to jog your memory when you're standing in front of a server and can't remember how to perform some manual task.The web app is designed to be viewed on a Mac, iPhone, or iPod touch, and requires Safari as the browser. If you need to identify what model of XServe you're working on, want to know how to install spare parts, would like to decode what blinking lights on the Xserve mean, or even determine how to choose a startup drive using the system identifier button, it's all in this web app.You can visit the web app from your favorite browser here:http://help.apple.com/server/guide/desktop.htmlor from your iPhone at this URL:http://help.apple.com/server/guide/main.htmlThanks to TwitterMail tipster mvcoile!TUAWApple Xserve Field Guide originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Palm: Looking Moribund
At a moment in time when smartphones are one of the few hot tech products, Palm (PALM), the industry's pioneer, appears to be dying. This morning, Global Crown Capital analyst Pablo Perez-Fernandez cut his rating on the company to Underweight from Neutral, setting a $1.50 price target, well below the current level. Perez-Fernandez provides a damaging list of factors now facing the company and the stock, all of which add up to a deteriorating position in a market where competition is heating up considerably. In the debate over whether to buy an Apple (AAPL) iPhone or a Research in Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry Storm or Bold, does Palm's name even come up in conversation? Alas, no.
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TaskPaper 2.0 for Leopard adds new search engine, Quick Entry Window, more
Posted by Dennis SellersHog Bay Software has released TaskPaper 2.0, an update of their list maker for Mac OS X 10.5 (“Leopard”). It adds a new search system and a Quick Entry Window that can be accessed system-wide to capture your thoughts without disrupting your work.
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News: iFrogz launches first visually customizable earphones
iFrogz has expanded its Earpollution line of audio accessories with three user-customizable styles of headphones and earphones. NervePipes and Fallout are over-the-ear headphones, each offering 40mm drivers, a frequency response of 30Hz to 20KHz, and 1.2 meter cords. Users may customize five different pieces of NervePipes, including the headband, sidepieces, hinges, speakers, and ear cushions, while the Fallout-style headphones offer similar customizability,…
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Review: Frenzic for iPhone trounces desktop version
The last time we reviewed Frenzic on the desktop, we didn't particularly enjoy the gameplay. A change of platform, however, proved to be exactly what Frenzic needed in order to transform into a must-play game for the iPhone and iPod touch. Read More...
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Apple cutting hours for part-time retail workers?
Fewer hours may be available for Apple's part-time retail employees, who will see their duties given to full-time staffers being asked to take on more work, AppleInsider reports.
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TunesBar 2.0 for Leopard adds smart Play/Pause menu option
Posted by Dennis SellersThoughtful Tree Software has released TunesBar 2.0, an update of the iTunes extension for the Mac's Menu Bar. Using TunesBar, users canglance in their menu bar to see what the title, artist, or album of the currently playing iTunes track is.
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2009 Macworld conference program offers attendees exclusive new content
Posted by Dennis SellersThe folks at Macworld Conference & Expo have announced that the 2009 conference will offer a comprehensive and innovative agenda designed to help attendees improve their Mac skills over a variety of subject matter, providing a wide array of professional development opportunities.
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First Looks: Wi-Gear iMuffs MB220 Bluetooth Headset for iPod and iPhone
Built upon the same foundation as its earlier iMuffs MB200 and MB210 series Bluetooth wireless headphones, Wi-Gear's new iMuffs MB220 ($150) is a pair of on-ear headphones with a flexible hard plastic band that wraps around the back of your neck, connecting the foam-covered left and right earpieces together. One earpiece has track and play/pause buttons, power and volume controls, and a mini-USB port for charging. A dongle attaches to the bottom…
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iPhone Developer Paying for Five-Star App Store Reviews Via Mechanical Turk
Brian X. Chen: The developer of Santa Live, a jokey iPhone app for kids, appears to have posted a listing on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk offering to pay $4 for the highest-rated reviews on Apple’s iPhone App Store. “So for this hit, all you have to do is download the application ($1.99) and then leave a 5 star review for the app in iTunes or the App Store,” said the posting, which has now been taken down, but is preserved here by a screenshot taken by “Techtistic”, a reader of The Unofficial Apple Weblog. The developer’s name is Adam Majewski. I saw a similar request that Majewski posted to Mechanical Turk on November 14, where he was offering only $2 (just one penny more than the cost of the app) and only asked for the app to be downloaded and reviewed, without specifying that the review be positive. ★
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Using Preview’s Enhanced Photo Editing Tools
For basic photo editing, if you're running OS X 10.5 Leopard you don't need Photoshop Elements or Pixelmator. Leopard's Preview graphics viewer application is much more than a viewer; it now incorporates some very handy image correction tools that are not only user-friendly and intuitive to use, but also work really well. Consequently, if you take digital photos or scan transparencies or prints onto your computer and want to optimize them, you may not need a traditional image editor application at all. Preview can do the job for you. (more…)
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EMG Technology files patent infringement lawsuit against Apple
Posted by Dennis Sellers Another day, another lawsuit. Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro (JMBM) announced today that it'sfiled a patent infringement lawsuit on behalf of EMG Technology, against Apple in the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in the Tyler Division. The lawsuit accuses Apple of infringing U.S. Patent No. 7,441,196 in...
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StretchZ brings at your desk stretching to the iPhone and iPod touch
Posted by Dennis Sellerspublicspace.net has announced StretchZ an application for the iPhone and iPod touch designed to help you keep up a regular stretching routine.
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StarLight for Mac enters alpha; iPhone client in development
As a subscriber to Sirius Satellite Radio one of my favorite new applications for Mac OS X is StarLight from NiceMac LLC. It’s a super simple, thin client to access the Sirius radio Web streams. Currently at version 109.a (download link) it’s an excellent alternative to Sirius’ hokey Web interface which requires a login (with captcha) [...]
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iPhone Tip: Update all apps with one touch
Several readers have mentioned that updating multiple apps on the iPhone is tedious because updating the first app you're taken to the Home page where you can see the app downloading, after which you have to return to Updates, tap the next app, tap Update again, and so on. That does sound tedious. Fortunately there's a better way to update all apps at once, though it is surprisingly easy to miss: Tap Update All on the Updates page.
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EasyIShopK introduces Klipsch RoomGrove speaker system
Posted by Dennis SellersEasyIShopUK, an Internet retailer of iPod speakers and iPod accessories, has introduced the Klipsch RoomGroove. The speaker is compatible with all iPods; when it's linked with other RoomGroove's it can wirelessly transmit music all across the house.
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Password Wallet updated; iPhone version available
Posted by Dennis SellersSeznick Scientific Software has updated Password Wallet to version 4.4. It's now available for Windows Mobile 5, both PocketPC and Smartphone editions. You can open, modify and synchronize PasswordWallet documents with your Ma.
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Mobispine pens tell all about their iPhone MMS app, doesn't exactly tell all
We've heard a few things about the Mobispine MMS app supposedly being developed for the iPhone, but the company's just answered a couple of questions, and we thought we'd give you a quick rundown. Interestingly, the app will utilize Apple's announced but delayed push notification, which Mobispine says is due "pretty soon," though carriers may use SMS notification in lieu of the service. The company says that the app will be carrier-branded, and that it will be up to them how much to charge you, the MMS-starved consumer. Mobispine says that the software will "probably" be made available through the App Store, "probably" because it's still in some vague phase of development, and has yet to be approved by Apple. Just let us know when the thing is ready, okay guys?[Thanks, Carlos] Filed under: CellphonesMobispine pens tell all about their iPhone MMS app, doesn't exactly tell all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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FurrySoft introduces Tiggits 1.0 for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersFurrySoft has introduced Tiggits 1.0, an end-to-end event ticket application for the iPhone and iPod touch. It connects users to thousands of events, with access to millions of tickets via TicketNetwork's event ticket inventory.
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iPhone app dev seemingly caught paying for positive reviews
In what seems to be the first reported instance of App Store review bribery, one iPhone developer was spotted offering a $2 profit for five-star reviews via Amazon's Mechanical Turk service.Read More...
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Boxee is Back On Apple TV 2.3
And there was much rejoicing! I noted in my Apple TV 2.3 article that the latest Apple update broke boxee, but now the official boxee blog explains that they have got it working again. It took a little longer to get the USB Creator updated to work with Apple TV 2.3, but you can find the instructions on the boxee blog to make a patchstick installer that makes the whole process as simple as pulling the cord, plugging in the patchstick that you made, plugging the power back in, waiting, and then rebooting. Some other things to be aware of… New remote behavior: long “select” switches between now playing and ui long “menu” takes you home back on login screen takes you out Known caveat: with the update to 2.3, Apple broke a few things, one being the ability of the app to consistently appear in the foreground. Until this is figured out, if you run boxee, and get a black screen, you need to back out of boxee by clicking menu on the remote, and try launching boxee again. Apparently Scott and Stephan are working on this last bit to kill the black screen bug dead for good. I like the new features in Apple TV 2.3, but I missed having access to boxee after I upgraded the other day. I'm was having minor issues with boxee and Hulu. Playback gets just a little bit jittery at times. I'm hoping the upcoming releases will help improve this situation. Also, as a side note on boxee, the boxee team just released the results of a user survey they conducted to determine which media sources to add to boxee next. You can read all about the results on their blog. Personally, I'd be thrilled if they can deliver half of the sources on their list. Pandora on Apple TV would be amazing.
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TUAW Tip: use the Help menu to search Safari bookmarks and history
Filed under: TUAW Tips, Leopard Note: This tip is Leopard-only, sorry Tiger holdouts. The Command-? trick is easily one of my favorites among the less-ballyhooed feature expansions of Leopard. If you missed that one, it allows you to search for menu items in any application by pulling down the "Help" menu, which can be triggered from the keyboard with the Command-? (Command-Shift-/) shortcut. Typing the first few letters of the menu item you're searching for will highlight its location in the dropdown menus. I use it a lot, but somehow missed one great capability noted by TUAW reader Maarten: in Safari, the menu item search extends to your bookmark collection and Safari history! Because the bookmarks and history items are contained in the menubar's menus, they're searched along with the other menu items, allowing blazing-fast navigation of the sites listed in the Bookmarks and History menus. I like speed; I have my bookmarks toolbar set up with numbered titles which correlate to their Command-number shortcut (the first non-folder item in the toolbar can be accessed with Command-1, the second with Command-2, etc.), and I have keyword shortcuts assigned to my other most-accessed bookmarks using various tools. There's only so much room in my life, however, for organizing bookmarks and assigning keywords. History search can be a tedious prospect, too, even using Spotlight or Safari's History menu hierarchy. This trick provides instant search and it's only a keyboard shortcut away. Because the History results are sorted into sub-menus named by date, the results from the history menu appear with their access date first, so it's easy to navigate the results to find what you're looking for. The concept behind this tip applies to all kinds of applications. I started experimenting and found that the search bar in the help menu almost always included recent documents and open windows ... basically anything the application lists in its menus. The bookmarks/history search works in most other browsers, too. I use Firefox as well as Safari, so I was happy to find it worked there, with one minor caveat: the Command-? shortcut in Firefox opens the Firefox Help webpage, not the Help menu item, requiring a mouse click to focus the search box in the dropdown. I haven't found a way to add shortcut keys for top-level menu items in System Preferences, so if anyone knows that, or another way to access the search menu via a shortcut key, I'd love to know about it. Happy searching, and a big thanks to Maarten for the tip!TUAWTUAW Tip: use the Help menu to search Safari bookmarks and history originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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ABI Research: new generation of GPS smartphones renew momentum for the LBS infrastructure industry
Posted by Dennis SellersThe recent launches of GPS-enabled smartphones with touch screen interfaces such as Apple's iPhone, the BlackBerry Storm, the T-Mobile G1, Nokia's 5800 XpressMusic, and Sony Ericsson's Xperia X1 are fueling interest in handset-based navigation and location based services (LBS) despite the worsening economic climate, according to ABI Research.
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Examining the Battery/AC Performance Gap on MacBooks and MacBook Pros
Back in the dark ages, when I used to have a Toshiba laptop, I would always remove the battery when running off of AC power, out of what may have been misguided superstition. I was told, and I fervently believed, that doing so would extend the life of my battery considerably by reducing the total number of cycles. When I got a MacBook, I just stopped the curious practice cold turkey. I didn't have a reason for it at the time, but it looks like I was right to do so, as users are reporting significant drops in performance on Apple notebooks with the battery removed. This issue is getting a lot of virtual ink around the blogosphere. Most of the scuttlebutt is actually misleading, too. ZDnet blogs, the Apple Gazette, and TrustedReviews all feature articles that reference the problem as affecting new model MacBooks and MacBook Pros, which is true, but only tells half the story. In fact, the issue is not limited to the aluminum and glass model machines. Gearlog, who ran the tests, doesn't mention any limit to the models affected, and the Apple Support article officially noting and explaining the issue is actually dated from before the release of the new notebooks, so it must reference previous models as well. (more…)
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Apple vs. Microsoft Vista: The Ad Budget Wars
When Apple (AAPL) started running the anti-Vista commercial (above) mocking Microsoft (MSFT) for spending $300 million on Vista's own ad campaign instead of on fixing its problems, I called it hypocritical:
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iScrapbook 2.0 for Mac OS X adds 15-plus new features
Posted by Dennis SellersChronos has released iScrapbook 2.0, an update of its digital scrapbooking application for Mac OS X. According to Jerry Halls, vice president of sales at Chronos, it adds over 15 new features.
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Buy, Sell or Hold: Google Still Leaves Competitors in the Dust
When – on August 22, 1851 – schooner-yacht America defeated 15 other yachts representing the Royal Yacht Squadron, racing around the Isle of Wight in England to win the renamed “America's Cup,” Queen Victoria asked who was second. The famous answer was: "Ah, Your Majesty, there is no second." Similarly, in the search-engine category, Google Inc. (GOOG), has run away with the trophy, leaving its competitors so far behind that they're actually still over the horizon. Today, Google controls at least 60% of the search activity on the Internet, eclipsing all its rivals, most notably, Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), whose market share hovers around 20%.
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Use a web FTP client to access files from an iPhone
I keep a number of reference documents on a server at work that would be very handy to have access to on my iPhone while at work. The server is Windows 2003, and the iPhone does not provide an easy way to access shared files by ftp or smb. I was thinking about using something like AirSharing, but the files are changing and edited by more than one person, making sync a bit of an issue.I thought about enabling IIS directory browsing, but this proved too limiting. Eventually, I came across a (free) project called net2FTP, which is a web-based FTP client. Using net2ftp requires that you can host FTP on your file server, and a webserver with PHP (either on the same server, or somewhere else). I installed Filezilla and net2FTP on the server, set up the FTP server to share out the directories I needed, and m...
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Complete Firefox forms using Address Book data
Safari has long had the ability to pull data from the OS X Address Book, and use only that information to fill in forms. I just submitted an extension to Mozilla that does the same for Firefox: Addressbook.app Form Filler. (As new extensions are considered by addons.mozilla.org to be experimental, you'll have to log in to the Firefox extensions site in order to install it.)There are a few differences from the way this works in Safari. This extension can find U.S. states and Canadian provinces that are in pull-down lists, and it's triggered by a toolbar button, rather than doing word-completion in the form. Control-click on the toolbar and choose Customize from the drop-down menu, then drag the AddressBook->Forms button to the toolbar. (If anyone knows how the extension can do this on its own during the installation process or during its first run, please let me know.)For those who are curious, the A...
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How podcasts work with iPhone 2.2 and iTunes
Read here for everything you wanted to know about the iPhone 2.2 software update's new podcasting features but were afraid to ask.Read More...
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Xbox 360 modded with slot loading DVD drive, fire vision, mind control
This Xbox 360 mod may be a little less dramatic than some we've seen, but we think that anyone who's had their nerves rattled by the incessant banging of their console's optical drive tray will really appreciate it. RDC over at the benheck.com forum has installed a slot loader into his Xbox the hard way -- by gutting the innards of his console's DVD-ROM and installing them in the case of his old iMac's slot loader. After taking everything apart, it was a simple matter of rebuilding the spindle, rigging up a tiny breadboard with a few transistors, cramming the new Frankenstein drive into the game system, and -- of course -- finishing up with some handy case mod. Sure, the whole affair seems needlessly complicated, but the end result looks pretty good to us. Catch a video of the finished business after the break. Continue reading Xbox 360 modded with slot loading DVD drive, fire vision, mind controlFiled under: GamingXbox 360 modded with slot loading DVD drive, fire vision, mind control originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Have it all: Lunascape, the browser with three engines
Gecko, Trident, and Webkit all in one browser. Some might say Lunascape 5 does too much.
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HandBrake 0.9.3 adds Universal Input
Filed under: Video, Open SourceThe well known, open-source DVD ripping and video transcoding application HandBrake has been updated to version 0.9.3. Among the changes, perhaps the most exciting is universal input -- now you can use HandBrake to convert any kind of video file it recognizes, not just DVDs. This is particularly exciting given the recent demise of the much loved VisualHub (although the open-source reworking of VisualHub via the TranscoderRedux project is underway). In fact, the new HandBrake incorporates some of the same ffmpeg libraries that did the heavy lifting in VisualHub. Among the many changes are an updated interface as well as improvements to both audio handling and video quality. Interestingly, the HandBrake developers have removed its internal DVD decryption which means you'll need to have the free VLC on your machine to utilize HandBrake's classic DVD ripping functionality (though as long as you have VLC they promise it will work as before).HandBrake 0.9.3 is a free download from HandBrake.Thanks Will!TUAWHandBrake 0.9.3 adds Universal Input originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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News: Marware intros Nuance for iPod nano 4G
Marware has introduced its Nuance case for the fourth-generation iPod nano. The slim leather case features a built-in clear screen and Click Wheel protector, a removable carrying strap, open access to the headphone jack and Dock Connector, and an included lanyard, film protector, and cleaning cloth. The Marware Nuance for iPod nano 4G is now available for pre-order in black, blue, pink, or yellow, and sells for $25. ...
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Report: MacBook performance tanks sans battery
It appears that Apple's warning about MacBooks and MacBook Pros running slower without their batteries installed should be heeded, as one reviewer measured a 37 percent drop in performance during testing.Read More...
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iPhone Remote: Your Mac in Your iPhone
Not to be confused with Apple's Remote app for iTunes, iPhone Remote is an application for Mac OS X that puts the contents of your Mac within easy reach of your iPhone or iPod touch. With iPhone Remote, your Mac is in your iPhone. Developed by Telekinesis, the folks behind the ubiquitous Quicksilver, iPhone Remote brings VNC-like funtionalities to the iPhone and iPod touch. The front-end of iPhone Remote is the web browser. Simply type the IP address provided by the iPhone Remote service running on your Mac into Safari on your device and you will be greeted with a page of icons. You can bookmark this page and add it to the Home Screen. (more…)
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First Look: Guitar Rock Tour for iPhone
Filed under: iPhone, App StoreDo you like to rock out with Guitar Hero or Rock Band? If you do, then you'll no doubt like Guitar Rock Tour [iTunes link] for the iPhone. The Guitar Rock Tour experience is similar to that of Guitar Hero, but portable. Unlike Tap Tap Revenge, Guitar Rock Tour gives you 17 licensed songs, including Rock You Like a Hurricane, Beat It, Smoke on the Water, and more. The nice thing about this game is that you can play either the lead guitar or the drums. There are three difficulty levels for Guitar Rock Tour: Easy, Medium, and Hard. In addition, there is a quick play mode and tour mode. In quick play, you can play any song that you want, using any difficultly level -- assuming you've unlocked the songs. In tour mode, you go around to different cities playing songs, earning points, and unlocking more songs. When you start the tour mode, you actually sign a contract for the band -- I thought this part was cool. The game play is identical to that of Guitar Hero or RockBand. You simply tap the notes that appear on the screen to make the music play. If you miss a note, then you lose points; if you get a note right, you gain points. Overall, Guitar Rock Tour is a lot of fun and has great graphics -- I was surprised at how good and fluid the animations were. I experienced a lot of crashes, though this seemed to have been fixed with a reboot of the iPhone. I also found that sometimes the notes were not timed exactly right. This can be distracting, especially when you just want to play the song. If you are interested in Guitar Rock Tour, it is available from the App Store for $7.99 (US). Gallery: First Look: Guitar Rock TourTUAWFirst Look: Guitar Rock Tour for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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News: Gary Bart, ex-XtremeMac CEO, leaves Imation for 'new project'
Gary Bart, former CEO and founder of iPod and iPhone accessory developer XtremeMac, has resigned as his position as Executive Director of XtremeMac's acquiring company Imation. “I am working on a new project and I will continue to be directly involved in the iPod/iPhone market,” Bart told iLounge in an email, adding, “When I have specifics to share, you will be among the first to know.” XtremeMac began the year by…
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News: iPod touch 2G faster than previous model, iPhones?
Despite the fact that all of Apple's iPhone OS devices use similar ARM processors, the second-generation iPod touch has been revealed as the fastest model thanks to a boost in speed from 412MHz to 532MHz. Thomas Fessler, CEO of Handheld Games Corp, has said that the performance of its TouchSports Tennis game is noticeably different across models, with the second-generation iPod touch being the fastest “by far.” Speaking with Touch…
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First Look: Got Your BAC for iPhone/iPod touch
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, ipod shuffleIf you frequent the bar, or just like to have the occasional drink, then a new iPhone application has Got Your Back. As a matter of fact, that is the name of the application; except it is spelled BAC (as in Blood-Alcohol Concentration). With this application you will know exactly when you should call a taxi.When you first launch the application, you'll enter some personal information, like age, weight, and gender, so the application can calculate your BAC correctly. The main display shows four drinks on a table. You can change the type of beverage by double-tapping and selecting a different one -- the icon will also change. Each time you drink a beverage, you drag the icon off the table and onto the screen. The BAC, Carbs, Calories, and number of drinks will be updated in the top-left corner of the screen. As you add drinks, these numbers will increase. The red line across the screen indicates the legal limit -- when you're above this line, a new button will appear called "call a taxi." When tapped, this button will launch the Maps app and search for taxis. I love subtle UI features, and this application definitely has some: from the icon sets for beverages, to the sloshing liquid when you tilt the iPhone. The application is really great, and I would love to see the developer create a caffeine calculator that does the same thing. I would like to see the ability to input a number for a designated driver, that way you don't have to fumble through your contacts or call a taxi. Got Your BAC is available from the App Store for $2.99 (US). And, remember, the best thing to do is to not drink and drive. Gallery: First Look: Got Your BACTUAWFirst Look: Got Your BAC for iPhone/iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Motorola's Attila even more cruel in the wild
That's some beefy phone Motorola's got there. Assuming, of course, we're not looking at a KIRF which is entirely possible in the three months since the initial leaked image -- that iPhone looking UI / theme pictured after the break doesn't help with the legitimacy either. Regardless, it's not like you're holding out for this 320 x 240 pixel WinMo 6.1 candybar anyway, right? No matter how many HSPA frequencies (three, ok) it supports. Embarrassing Moto, embarrassing. One more shot after the break just to rub it in. [Thanks, Anthony C.]Continue reading Motorola's Attila even more cruel in the wildFiled under: CellphonesMotorola's Attila even more cruel in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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iPods, iPhones and the Enterprise Data Clampdown
It's a safe bet that most enterprise employees don't haul their personal laptops into the workplace. However, with the ever-increasing capabilities of iPods and iPhones these days, are workers introducing new issues for IT security? The Apple iPod touch now comes with a whopping 32 GB of storage space and built-in WiFi capable of attaching to nearly ubiquitous corporate wireless networks. The iPhone doesn't currently have as much storage space, but it too has WiFi. While most organizations should be running relatively secure wireless networks, is there still a security risk?
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Energizer says Microsoft's a great host
SAN FRANCISCO--One might think that as a CIO, it would be tough to have someone else running all of your desktops and many of your servers. Not so, says Randy Benz, CIO of Energizer. For more than three years, Energizer has handed off much of those duties to Microsoft. And ...
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Found Footage: live rig with TouchOSC
Filed under: Audio, Multimedia, Found Footage, iPod touch I recently offered a little introduction to integrating TouchOSC with Logic. In response, TUAW reader Tom Phillipson sent us a link to a video of his own integration of TouchOSC into his live setup. He modded a Novation ReMOTE 25SL Compact, extending its functionality via TouchOSC on his iPod touch. Check out the video to see (and hear) it controlling Ableton Live and an Access TI Snow. Thanks for sharing, Tom!TUAWFound Footage: live rig with TouchOSC originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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AnchorFree announces Hotspot Shield for the iPhone
Posted by Dennis SellersAnchorFree has made its Hotspot Shield security solution available for the iPhone, delivering what the company says is the only free security iPhone application that keeps Internet sessions 100 percent secure and anonymous.
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Celtx - a MUST HAVE resource for Writing in ANY Medium
If you're interested in writing for film, television, radio, comic books, or just plain prose - you need to download Celtx. This amazing pre-production software has just recently released version 1.0…and it is simply spectacular. Not only are their templates for writing appropriate scripts in all of the formats I just mentioned, the FREE service also includes online community collaboration, project back-up, and even an iPhone interface for viewing your scripts. I have written two screenplays using Celtx in the past, and now that it has comic book formats as well, there's no telling how many scripts I will eventually crank out of this software…but it's the online tools that make it truly amazing…and the price of FREE is equally unbelievable. This is an open source project that there is absolutely no charge for. They don't even accept donations for themselves, instead, they ask that you donate to Against Malaria to help buy life-saving bed nets to fight off mosquitos and save people's lives in countries where teh Malaria epidemic is still ongoing. So let's recap what you get – Industry leading script writing software Templates for all forms of script writing: tv, film, audio, comic books, and more Online collaboration Online Back-up iPhone Interface for viewing projects And the cost…FREE. I hate to gush about software…but I have to GUSH about this software. It's an indy producer's DREAM. Everything you need to create at your finger tips. The advanced features of the software allow you to link reference material to scenes, organize your props, locations, scenes…every single aspect of pre-production on ANY kind of creative video, audio, or art project, can be handled with this software. I give it my highest possible recommendation. You can download it for free right here.
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VIDEO: Blackberry Storm vs. iPhone web browsing
The Blackberry Storm was recently launched, and there have been lines waiting for it, product shortages, and some surprisingly mixed reviews. Engadget has a very comprehensive look at the phone that makes it clear that the device still needs some work if it's going to be a true iPhone rival. This video below, from the review, shows us exactly how the iPhone browsing experience fairs against the Blackberry Storm. I found it quite interesting - maybe you will too. I'm looking forward to the day we find a true iPhone rival - and it looks like both Google and RIM are close…but there is still much work to be done.
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iPod touch gets Street View, beats iPhone 3G at tennis
Some good news for iPod touch owners: one enterprising individual going by the nom de mod timmyj9 has figured out how to enable the Street View functionality in the media player's version 2.2 firmware -- albeit with some glitches. If your iPod touch is jailbroken, and if you enjoy this sort of illegitimate activity, feel free to hit the link below for some thrilling step-by-step directions. And if that wasn't exciting enough for you, we've just espied a video that pits the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G against both a first and a second generation iPod touch in a fight to the death (or more accurately, TouchSport Tennis). Admittedly, this is not the most scientific of benchmarks, but the clip (after the break) clearly shows the 532MHz second generation iPod touch rocking the 3D graphics faster than its 412MHz iPhone 3G counterpart. As expected, neither the original iPhone nor the first generation iPod fare nearly as well as their siblings. Read - Modification Enables Street View on iPod touchRead - Second Generation iPod touch Faster than iPhone Continue reading iPod touch gets Street View, beats iPhone 3G at tennisFiled under: Cellphones, HandheldsiPod touch gets Street View, beats iPhone 3G at tennis originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Each Time I See Google's Android Pitch I Like It Less and Less
I've seen various pitches from Google (GOOG) about mobile. In particular, I've seen several Android presentations over the last year. Each one looks less convincing than the last. I've just been watching Rich Miner speaking at the Open Mobile Summit, and although the developer story looks fairly well-articulated, I just think that some of the wider back-story about mobile looks tired, and the assumptions and world-view seem too simplistic.One slide seemed to suggest that hardware cost as a % of handset bill-of-materials is falling, making the software cost more important as a way of driving down overall costs. Really? That was the prevailing thinking four years ago, but since then we've entered a world of QWERTY keypads, 480x800 touch screens, 16GB of memory, 8MP cameras and multiple radios.
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Tech Up Your Family -- Or How to Survive the Four Day Weekend
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New Macbooks performance suffers with only AC Power
Gearlog reported this weekend that while they were testing a Macbook Pro they found that the machines performance took a nose dive while it was running on only AC power, with the battery completely removed. TUAW did a little research and found a Support Document that claims this is done to prevent “the computer from shutting down if it demands more power than the A/C adapter alone can provide.” Gearlog is reporting a 36% lower processor benchmark with the battery removed. Obviously its not hard to prevent this…just keep the battery in…but it's interesting to note.
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Half of teen activities driven by technology
Posted by Dennis SellersIt comes as no surprise, though I find it a little sad: a study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) says that nearly half of teen activities are driven by technology.
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Panorama
Panorama makes your iPhone open wide, not your wallet.read more
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Developer of “Crackulous” gets upset when his app is Pirated…HA!
Oh the irony… The jackass who has developed an app called “Crackulous” - which is designed to crack and distribute iPhone applications without paying any money to their developers - has had his own application pirated, and released publicly before he wanted it to. His response? You'll love this… He claims the leaks is “absolutely disgusting, and downright insulting.” He continues, “[I] have released a new version of Crackulous almost every day or two, fixing all the bugs that had been reported up until that day. I was proud of Crackulous, and put a large majority of my free time into ensuring it will be the best application it possibly could be. I responded to beta tester feedback, and each version of Crackulous was better than the last.” After being called out in a number of places for the absurdity of complaining that his App stealing application was stolen, he continued to defend himself. “Several of you had noticed the irony in me complaining that a tool used to steal from other developers was stolen, but I hope you realize the difference in situation. iPhone developers almost always (99% of the time) develop applications for the App Store in hopes of getting money.” It's hard for me to imagine how this guy's mind works. He's smart enough to be able to understand code, and to develop and application (which is no easy feet), yet dumb enough to not have learned a thing from this experience.
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The Mac Night Owl: 'Announcing the Microsoft Death Watch'
Posted by Dennis SellersOn today's commentary, Gene “Mac Night Owl” Steinberg has started the “Night Owl's Microsoft Death Watch.”
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First Look video: Picoli for iPhone
One of our favorite photo editors for iPhone gives you better-quality images to upload, e-mail.