Feb 8, 2009 Feb 10, 2009 Monday February 9, 2009
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Apple and China Mobile's Talks Breakdown over App Store.
Apple just can't seem to get a deal done with China Mobile for the iPhone. The current sticking point is the App Store - and it looks like it may end up being a deal breaker. China Mobile wishes to maintain control and sell applications through the App Store itself - which is something that we all know Apple is never going to allow…no matter how big the market is. If Apple decides to completely break-off negotiations with China Mobile, there are always other options. China Unicorn and China Telecom are both smaller companies that would most likely welcome the iPhone with much more flexible options…mainly so they can gain an advantage over China Mobile. Will the iPhone ever make it to China officially? Probably…but not anytime soon.
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Apple seeks Your Advice on the AppleTV
Apple is looking to improve the AppleTV - and they want to know what you would like to see. In a very uncharacteristic move, Apple has posted an online survey asking you where you get your content, what you watch it on, and even what kind of remote you use with the device. I'd love to take the survey, but as I write this - the thing is being hit with so much traffic that I can't seem to get it to load.
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Six Stocks Still Worthy of Investment
The price-to-peak earnings multiple advanced to 9.7x this week as last week was a good one for equities. Stocks were up more than five percent, which broke a streak of four straight weekly declines in January. The equity rebound was certainly welcome, but much of the recent optimism in the market is related more to external factors such as President Obama's stimulus plan currently working its way through Capitol Hill. The fact that the market's rally was boosted by speculation over proposed legislation is a concern this week because last week's euphoria can be erased quickly should the bill encounter more resistance than projected. Furthermore, the Obama administration is putting maximum importance on passage of the economic stimulus bill while delaying action on a follow-on bank rescue plan until the stimulus passes. In short, we are advising caution over the short-term because any time market upside is dependent on good news from Washington there can be great volatility. While the short-term direction of the market is unknowable, we maintain that valuations have become far more attractive when looking at the long-term.
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Psyclops releases Dance Mixer for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersPsyclops has released Psyclops Dance Mixer for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for US$1.99 at the Apple App Store.
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Big Canvas releases PhotoCanvas for the iPhone
Posted by Dennis SellersBig Canvas has released PhotoCanvas, an application that provides tools to enrich images on the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for US$1.99 (for a limited time) at the Apple App Store.
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Hints of a removable iPhone battery buried in patent
A recent spate of patent applications filed by Apple and unearthed by AppleInsider detail an intelligent universal battery technology that could lead to a removable battery in a future iPhone model. The Apple patent application details plans for a universal rechargeable battery that can be swapped interchangeably between, presumably, Apple devices. In fact, one patent diagram [...]
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MacHeist opens season three with new 'nanomission,' free software
Posted by Dennis SellersMacHeist 3 has opened its doors, welcoming members and newcomers with a redesigned web site, a new mission to solve, free Mac software to earn, and the promise of a “killer new MacHeist software bundle,” according to Co-founder John Cassantra.
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NEC launches NP Short Throw series with two portable projectors
Posted by Dennis SellersNEC Display Solutions of America has announced two new portable short throw projectors, the NP500WS and NP600S, which are designed to address the needs of educational facilities, small-to-medium-sized businesses and corporate applications that require a short throw distance in classrooms and conference rooms. The projectors will be available for April...
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Daily Apple: China Woes, Apple TV Wants to Know, & Microsoft Says Me Too
iPhone in China Faces Yet Another Hurdle - It's been a hard battle so far, and it doesn't seem to show any signs of being resolved anytime soon. This time, the App Store is giving China Mobile pause. Apparently they fear that it will lead to the company “losing control” of their subscribers. Apparently they don't like that they don't get to handle any of the money that passes between customers and Apple. Apple Surveying Customers About Apple TV - In an odd move from a company that seems to me to sometimes act in spite of customers' wants, Apple today released a survey seeking information and feedback about the Apple TV. Some of the questions seem to indicate that Apple is after the market of customers who download or rip their movies, and wants to possibly enhance interoperability between Apple TV and other devices. Finally, Minority Report Interface Becomes Real - MIT researchers have developed a new technology that would trump multi-touch, if it becomes much less geeky looking. It projects an interface onto pretty much anything, including your hand, or in theory, other parts of the body. Imagine the possibilities! Apple Says Facebook Not Being Blocked - It was just in yesterday's Daily Apple, but apparently it wasn't true. Today an Apple spokesperson denied that Facebook was being blocked in Apple stores. They cite that iPhoto now has Facebook integration, which makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. Microsoft To Compete With MobileMe, Too - Today we posted about Google's new contacts/calendar sync service for iPhone users, but it looks like Microsoft wants to join the party too. They're working on their own contacts/calendar/mail, etc. sync service, under the working title “My Phone.” Creative. Concentric Hosted IT Solutions and Web Hosting Click here to save cost on your IT demands
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Study: HDMI moves beyond HDTVs to set top boxes, DVD equipment, computers, more
Posted by Dennis SellersAs adoption of HDMI ports approaches 100 percent in digital televisions, the interface is now moving into set top boxes, DVD equipment and mobile computers, reports In-Stat. Overall, HDMI-enabled product shipments will increase at an annual rate of 23 percent between 2007 and 2012, according to the research group.
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Apple asks Apple TV users for feedback, viewing habits
Apple is looking for customer feedback in order to help shape the future of the Apple TV, as evidenced by a new survey posted to Apple's website. The survey, which is only a handful of pages long, asks current users what they use their Apple TVs for, how many they have in the home, and how much content comes from different types of sources.Apple is, at the very least, aware that not everyone uses the Apple TV to consume content from the iTunes Store. One question asks users to rank how often they do a wide range of activities from their Apple TVs, including renting movies, buying music, watching music videos, watching YouTube, listening to podcasts, and more. The company also asks what percentage of content that users view on the Apple TV comes from various sources, such as the iTunes Store, home videos, short clips from the Internet, e-mail, downloads, and movies/TV from P2P sources. That last question indicates that Apple is thinking hard about what users really want out of their set-top boxes and whether capabilities might be expanded to include more codecs by default. Click here to read the rest of this article
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100+ free sports apps for the iPhone/iPod touch
Posted by Dave MertenAre you into sports? Well, today I found a list of over 100 free sports apps you can download for your iPhone/iPod touch. Below is a list of all categories of sports apps you can choose from.
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Lite-On announces new internal DVD writers with 24X DVD
Posted by Dennis SellersLite-On, a global leader of optical storage solutions, has announced a new line of internal DVD writers that deliver a maximum write speed of 24X on select DVD media. Select drives will also include Lite-On's own LabelTag and SmartErase technologies— labeling and data erasing features for DVDs and CDs.
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The Tech Night Owl: is the media still biased towards Microsoft?
Posted by Dennis SellersOn today's Tech Night Owl commentary, Gene “Mac Night Owl” Steinberg wonders why most members of the media aren't discussing Apple's latest good financial result and Microsoft's not-so-good ones. 

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Apple survey to help shape future of Apple TV
Prince McLean, AppleInsider Apple has set up an online survey to find out more about how recent buyers of Apple TV make use of their box and what they do and don’t like about it in an effort to improve the system. Apple survey to help shape future of Apple TV . The online survey asks for demographic information, [...]
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Kindle 2: The Apple Angle
Well, it didn't exactly take anyone by surprise, but today Amazon officially unveiled the Kindle 2, the follow-up to their successful e-book reader. Virtually everything about it was leaked, including actual photos of the device, so the announcement didn't exactly shake the tech world to its foundations, but it does raise some interesting questions and possibilities for Apple, who competes with Amazon in at least one arena, though not yet really in this one. The new device brings a lot of improvements over the previous model, including more battery life, an incredibly sleek, much thinner design, and better rendering of images. It also brings an experimental text-to-speech feature to the table that enables the device to read aloud, 2GB of internal storage, and a new sync feature that allows you to read on your original Kindle, and then switch to the Kindle 2 without losing your place. This feature is also supposed to support other devices in future. All of this is interesting, but what does it have to do with Apple? If you ask Apple, they might coyly answer “Nothing.” But if you ask Amazon, I'll bet that if they're being honest, they'll say they're giving a lot of thought to Apple with the Kindle 2. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos even noted that the Kindle 2 was much thinner than the iPhone during the launch event. Consider the recent success of the iPhone and iPod touch as e-book reading devices. In fact, the iPhone recently garnered press for surpassing Amazon's original Kindle in popularity in that category. To me, that sounds an awful lot like competition. And what's really frightening, from Amazon's perspective, is that Apple isn't even actively trying to lock up that market, yet they're making significant headway. I think that's probably why the Kindle 2 has so many feature improvements over the original. Without the advent of the iPhone's success via apps like Stanza, we might have seen a very different Kindle 2, one that improved on physical design and usability, but not necessarily one that includes features the iPhone lacks like text-to-speech and the new syncing feature. Don't think that Apple hasn't noticed the success of their device as a book reader, even if they didn't plan on marketing it that way. In fact, I suspect that if they are working on a larger format iPod touch, or a tablet-type device, it's safe to say that they'll play up that angle and even offer an official, integrated solution that will definitely give the Kindle a run for its money. An iTunes e-book category would then be a perfect tie-in. It may seem like a far-fetched prediction, but there's no way Apple can look at the success of Stanza on the iPhone and not imagine ways they might more directly capitalize. And if they're already working on a larger-format device, there's no good reason not to challenge Amazon. Green your IT. Save Money. Save the Planet » Register at $295 / $495 regular » Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM's Green:Net.
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'The MUG Event Calendar': Apple's Dave Marra to appear in Pennsylvania, more
Posted by Dennis SellersThis week's MUG Event Calendar features two well-known speakers and more than a few new software demos.
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Apple's Snow Leopard to load printer drivers on demand
Prince McLean, AppleInsider As part of Apple’s plans to help trim the footprint of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the new system will cease the customary installation of several gigabytes of printer drivers and instead load only the files necessary for existing devices, relying on Software Update to obtain new drivers in the future as needed. Apple’s [...]
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Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server to pioneer ZFS ahead of desktop
Prince McLean, AppleInsider Apple’s expanded support for ZFS will premiere in Snow Leopard Server before trickling down to the desktop version, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans. Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server to pioneer ZFS ahead of desktop . Read-only support for the sophisticated new 128-bit file system, created by Sun and shared under its open [...]
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Apple and China Mobile Still Discussing iPhone Deal
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Apple conducting Apple TV survey
Posted by Dennis SellersIs Apple finally ready to move the Apple TV out of the “hobby” category? The company is conducting a survey “in an effort to improve Apple TV.” You can find the survey here.
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GenAudio offers consumer version of AstroundStereo technology
Posted by Dennis SellersGenAudio is launching a consumer version of its AstoundStereo technology, the AstoundStereo Expander computer software, and announced the giveaway of 10 million free music downloads of various songs processed and re-mixed using GenAudio's professional audio software.
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Free Sound Effects Download Pack #1 released by Blastwave FX
Posted by Dennis SellersBlastwave FX, a HD sound effects label, has released Free Sound Effects Download Pack #1. The Free Sound Effects Download Pack #1 contains 68 sound effects selections from 40 Blastwave FX libraries.
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Flash on Tap adds iPhone workshop
Posted by Dennis SellersFlash on Tap, a conference created for Flash designers and developers by Flash designers and developers, has added an iPhone workshop. Flash on Tap 2009 will be held at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers in Boston May 28-30.
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FlightTrack Pro flies to iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersAppropos Mobile and online trip planning service TripIt have announced FlightTrack Pro, the next generation of the flight tracker for the iPhone and iPod touch. Travelers simply forward their airline confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, and FlightTrack Pro automatically provides real-time flight cancellations, delays, gate changes, route maps, 10-day weather forecasts...
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Feb. 9 'Macsimum Podcast' now available
Posted by Dennis SellersThe Macsimum Podcast for Feb. 9 is now available here and the RSS feed is here.
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Apple software updates for Feb. 9
Posted by Dennis SellersCreaceed has updated Vocalia, their English speech recognition tool, to version 1.4. The upgrade adds a German phonetizer and acoustic model, as well as German interface localization.
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Google Sync Beta Now Available for iPhone
Jealous of MobileMe users but not willing to part with $100 and/or wary of its seemingly persistent problems? Have no fear, Google's here. Google Sync Beta, that is, which is now available for the iPhone (and Windows Mobile, but c'mon, honestly). With it, you can sync your Google Calendar and your Gmail Contacts over the air, and what's more, changes on either side are automatically pushed. I know I'm sort of regretting that MobileMe subscription right about now, considering I never use the Photos, iDisk, or Bookmarks features anyways, although push Mail syncing is not yet supported. Setting up Google Sync Beta on your iPhone is easy, but be forewarned: doing so will delete your existing iPhone contacts and calendar data, so don't do it unless you have that information safely stored somewhere else. And if you're currently using MobileMe, disable that first, or you'll run the risk of pushing your deleted contacts/calendars to your other devices. Once you've safely backed everything up, activating the service is easy. There's no app to install, and nothing to activate on the web-based side of things. Google Beta Sync uses Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol, so you'll basically be setting up a new Exchange account via the “Add Account…” feature in the “Mail, Contacts, Calendars” settings submenu. Google has full instructions on their official help page. I set this up on my iPod touch, once I'd safely deleted my MobileMe account there, and it worked without a hitch. Since my Gmail account is long neglected, and only briefly used in the first place, I only had about three contacts, but their information was there. My calendar was actually still set up from when I'd used it for work, so it had all the recurring events accounted for. Test events and contacts that I created on either side were automatically synced, so the service does indeed behave as advertised. Probably too early to say, but if Google builds this out a little more, and manages to add support for any of its other web services, I'd say MobileMe has good reason to shake in its proverbial boots. Concentric Hosted IT Solutions and Web Hosting Click here to save cost on your IT demands
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Tog: ‘Apple’s Flatland Aesthetic’
Bruce Tognazzini on the scaling limitations of the Dock, iPhoto, and Safari’s bookmarking features. I agree with him that none of these apps scale to handle the needs of advanced users, but I disagree that it’s necessarily a problem. By his own admission he’s worked around these shortcomings with third-party software. To me Apple’s unstated policy this decade has been that they’re going to knock themselves out making outstanding software that does the simple things for typical users very well. Software meant for advanced users is where the third-party opportunities are. ★
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IPEVO's WiFi handset lets you Skype like it's 1999
Now, this might not seem as futuristic as a videophone, or your own USB powered Star Trek communicator, but if you're in the mood for some VOIP (feeling frisky, are we?) IPEVO's newest is definitely worth a second look. The S0-20 is a stand-alone Skype handset that boasts a 4 hour talk time, backlit keys, a 1.8-inch color LCD, support for both G711 and G729AB codes, and both WEP and WPA/WPA2-PSK encryption -- all in a package that would look at home next to a ten year old pre-pay cell phone. Available now for $129.[Via TMC]Filed under: PeripheralsIPEVO's WiFi handset lets you Skype like it's 1999 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Make Your Mac More Manageable With Tags
Nowadays, we use tags pretty much everywhere we work and play online. Flickr, Facebook, Gmail, this blog (and any other blog), and on and on. It's an easy, intuitive way to keep track of things, and an organizational strategy that transcends categories and other groupings, like date and subject matter. It's such a great system, it only makes sense that someone would get the bright idea of applying the concept to your own computer and offline files as well. This is just what Tags (free trial, $29) from Gravity Apps is designed to do. With it, you can tag pretty much anything on your Mac, and then search for tagged items to quickly retrieve loads of associated files, regardless of where they're kept, what type of file they are, when they were created, etc. Admittedly, it's a feature that might not be needed if you maintain an obsessively well-organized folder structure, but for anyone outside of that lonely niche, it is a very useful little tool. Like Quicksilver, the popular Mac launcher app, Tags works best as an always-on application that runs silently in the background, accessible via a keystroke, dock icon, or menu bar item. Pressing “Control + Space” (default, can be changed) at any time brings up the Tags window, which, as long as you've selected a taggable file (in Finder, Mail, iPhoto, or others) will allow you to type in a tag to associate with that item. If you've already tagged some other items, the app will auto-suggest tags as you type. You can also batch tag multiple items by selecting more than one and then opening the Tags window. Besides its basic tagging function, Tags has a lot to offer, and depending on your level of comfort, you can use it to supplement Finder so much that you'll probably end up having little cause to ever click that poor little blue happy face ever again. Clicking in the upper right corner allows you to search your previously tagged items, reveal your results in Finder, and create smart folders based on your Tags to automatically group tagged files. From the Tag Manager, accessible via the Menu Bar, you can see all your existing tags, how many files are associated with each, and a list of all files under each tag. You can also remove and rename tags here, so that if you want to change a tag with, say, 50 files associated with it, you don't have to alter each one individually. Every aspect of the app's design is consistent with the theme of kraft paper shipping or sales tags, complete with the reinforced hole for string. It's a nice look, but personally I'd prefer a skin that integrated more naturally with Leopard's overall look, especially since this is the type of app that's meant to be used all the time seamlessly in concert with the operating system's existing features. I'm also not a huge fan of how Tags stays on top of all other windows. I can see how it's useful, but I'd appreciate an option to turn that off. All in all, Tags is a great app for those who would like to keep their Mac more organized, but don't have the desire or the patience to maintain a rigorously policed folder structure. Heck, even if you do have a pristine folder structure, Tags is designed to transcend that and offer you another way to sift through content, so its probably worth a look for the obsessively organized as well. Best of all, you can try out the 30-day trial first to see if it's something you'll actually use for more than a day. Concentric Hosted IT Solutions and Web Hosting Click here to save cost on your IT demands
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Six years with an Apple Cinema Display
Rob Griffiths looks back on six years’ use of Apple’s first-generation 23-inch Cinema Display.
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Haptic Compass gives you sense of direction, not style
While most folks can get by just fine by simply looking at a compass, Eric from Monkeys & Robots decided to see just how just how far he could push things and ultimately arrived at the Haptic Compass, which he says roughly simulates the magnetic orientation in migrating birds. To do that, Eric made use of a digital compass, twelve vibrating pager motors and, of course, an Arduino, all of which got brought together in belt form. When switched on, the belt simply buzzes the appropriate motor to indicate which way is north, and it can also be paired with an iPhone (or other device, presumably) to direct the wearer to a specific destination. Unfortunately, Eric doesn't seem to have yet provided a complete how-to, but those with the requisite skills should be able to pick up most of the necessary details by hitting up the read link below.[Via MAKE:Blog] Filed under: WearablesHaptic Compass gives you sense of direction, not style originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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What the Woz can expect on 'Dancing with the Stars'
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak had better be prepared for his dancing debut. Most important will be the professional ABC's producers decide to pair him with.
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Psystar Corners Apple in a Small, Tiny Victory
Psystar has managed a small victory against Apple. The Florida-based Mac cloner will be permitted to answer Apple’s lawsuit by using copyright misuse in its defense.read more
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Backstage: On Amazon's Kindle 2, or, It's Apple Circa 1999, Mr. Bezos, Not an iPhone 3G
To be crystal clear up front: we love Amazon.com. It's a fantastic store with great policies and generally very good prices. For our money, it's quite possibly the most impressive retailer currently in existence. And we buy way more—digital music, electronics, and other stuff—every year from Amazon than we do from Apple. We also really like the idea behind Amazon's Kindle, the company's original e-Book reader. The…
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'Macsimum Recommended Reading' for Feb. 9
Posted by Dennis Sellers“AT&T's 3G MicroCell to patch iPhone dead zones: iPhone 3G users stuck in an AT&T dead zone at home or at work will soon be able to plug in a device that provides a strong local signal for up to 10 phones and four simultaneous voice or data connections via...
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BlackBerry Gemini 9300--cool, but still not an iPhone killer
Blackberry remains the dominant enterprise mobile device, but RIM needs to step up to beat the iPhone.
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Steve WALTZNIAK?!?!
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Google Sync pushes contacts, calendars to phones
If you've been waiting for Apple and other device makers to come up with a better way to tap into Google's services, Google now has its own solution that works pretty well.
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iPhone Carrier update? Boring!
If you've seen the recent carrier update message in iTunes that has popped up over the last few days, you might wonder exactly what that update brings. After all, Apple fails to mention what "carrier settings" will be updated and how it might affect your iPhone. For me, I saw it just as I inserted my no-plan, out-of-contract iPhone into its dock. Was Apple gunning for me? Trying to make me run the phone with a plan? Er, no. It turns out that the carrier settings update is little more than a bunch of localized strings files and a half dozen images. I read through the Apple KB post about the update and located the ATT_US.ipcc file. It's located in Library/iTunes/iPhone Carrier Support/ in my user folder. Click here to read the rest of this article
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ngmoco launches Rolando Lite on for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis Sellersngmoco has released Rolando Lite, a stand-alone game experience showcasing the opening series of levels from the Rolando game. It's now available for free on the Apple App Store.
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Google turns on Exchange for iPhone and Windows Mobile users
Continuing its productivity war on Apple, Microsoft, and everyone in between, Google on Monday turned on Exchange support for iPhone and Windows Mobile device owners. This is in addition to Google's existing tool for BlackBerry phones, but the company is also including contact sync support for other phones via the standard SyncML protocol. Wrapped under the product umbrella of Google Sync, Gmail contacts and Google Calendar events can now be synchronized via over-the-air (OTA) push between Windows Mobile devices and both first- and second-generation iPhones (note, however, that iPhone OS 2.2 is required). Configuration for these devices is performed via their respective, built-in ActiveSync and Exchange configuration features, respectively, though Google Sync strangely does not support push e-mail for these devices yet. Microsoft says that Google licensed the Exchange ActiveSync, and these features are available for free today for both general consumers and, for once, Google Apps users at the same time. Click here to read the rest of this article
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Psystar Wins a Skirmish in Mac Clone Legal Battle
A federal judge in California ruled last week that a Florida-based maker of Apple clones may move ahead with its attempts to prove that Apple has violated federal copyright laws. Psystar has accused Apple of misusing its copyrights associated with OS X to keep Psystar from manufacturing its Mac clones, called "OpenComputers," capable of running the operating system. The dispute between Apple and Psystar started in July, when Apple sued the smaller company for copyright infringement. Psystar responded with a claim that Apple held a monopoly in the market for Mac computers.
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Is Microsoft Looking for Storefront Space at the Mobile App Mall?
Ever since an alert blogger spotted a Microsoft ad last year apparently seeking someone to assist in the rollout of a mobile app store, there has been an assumption that the software giant would soon be inviting third-party developers to build on the Windows Mobile platform. That expectation gained more gravitas with a report this weekend that Microsoft would soon be launching an online store to distribute software for cell phones running its Windows Mobile OS.
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Missing Sync for Blackberry revved to version 2.0
Posted by Dennis SellersMark/Space has updated The Missing Sync for Blackberry, a tool for syncing between BlackBerry devices from Research In Motion (including the BlackBerry Pearl smartphone) and Mac OS X's Address Book and iCal applications and the corresponding applications on BlackBerry handsets, to version 2.0.
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Microsoft, Google in rare technology pact
Microsoft has licensed its technical know-how to nearly every company, including rivals such as Apple and Nokia. Now Redmond can add Google to the list. To help power the Google Sync product that was announced on Monday, the search giant has licensed Microsoft's ActiveSync protocol for sharing information between ...
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Scripting iWork: Numbers and Yahoo! Finance
When iWork '08 was released it felt like a half-implemented suite for a whole host of reasons: lack of interoperability between the applications, very basic functionality, performance issues — especially with Numbers '08 — and lack of scripting. Apple's new iWork '09 suite has addressed many of those issues, and the one feature that truly stands out (for me) is the ability to bend the applications to your will via scripting. This article will focus on showing the scriptability of Numbers by writing a very small script to retrieve data from Yahoo! Finance and put it into a custom table. Numbers Scripting Definitions To get an idea of what you have at your disposal, fire up /Applications/AppleScript/Script Editor and select File->Open Dictionary… and choose Numbers from the dialog: You will should see a window that looks a bit like this: You should definitely take some time to peruse all the options available at your disposal but you will find that, while Apple has provided many ways to manipulate the contents of documents, sheets, tables, cells and rows, there is a distinct lack of functions related to charting/graphing. Perhaps an incremental update or Numbers X will correct this oversight. Directing the Data Yahoo! Finance has a very nice historical data view for closing stock prices. Even with all of the enhancements, Numbers still lacks one of the nicest features of Excel: the ability to grab data from a URL. To remedy this, we can create an AppleScript that: lets us input the symbol of the stock we are interested in fetch the data from Yahoo! Finance and populate a new table in Numbers with this data Part's one and two are pretty straightforward AppleScript: set tempFile to ((path to temporary items) as string) & "yahoo-quote" -- get company to display from the user display dialog "Enter symbol:" default answer "AAPL" set company to text returned of result -- download the file tell application "URL Access Scripting" set theURL to "http://ichart.finance.yahoo.com/table.csv?s=" & company & "&a=00&b=1&c=2008&g=d&ignore=.csv" download theURL to file tempFile end tell Here's where it gets interesting. First, we tell Numbers (the script assumes the app is open with a document ready) to become active and make the most recent document the one we want to work in. We then read in the data from Yahoo! to determine how many rows we need and use the header line to determine how many columns we need and then make a new table with this information: tell application "Numbers" activate tell document (count of documents) tell sheet 1 -- read in the file contents set quoteLines to paragraphs of (read file tempFile) set quoteValues to {} -- get number of rows for the table set nRows to length of quoteLines -- get number of columns for the table -- (grab header row first) set tempLine to item 1 of quoteLines -- we need to split the line with commas as delimeters set oldDelims to AppleScript's text item delimiters set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "," set headers to every text item of tempLine set nCols to length of headers -- make a new Numbers table that fits the # rows & cols in the CSV file make new table with properties {name:company, row count:nRows, column count nCols + 1)} Finally, we loop through each line (row) and copy the data from each column to the correct cell, then we delete the temporary file we created at the beginning: tell table (count of tables) -- the one we just made is the last delete column 1 -- labels we don't need set nRow to 1 repeat with aLine in quoteLines set cellValues to every text item of aLine set nCol to 1 repeat with aCell in cellValues set value of cell nCol of row nRow to aCell set nCol to nCol + 1 end repeat set nRow to nRow + 1 end repeat end tell -- we need to put the delimeters back set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelims end tell end tell end tell tell application "Finder" to delete file tempFile When you run the script (download the source), you will be able to watch Numbers create the new table and populate all of the cells. This particular script duplicates a built-in functionality of Numbers: the ability to read CSV files. However, you could very easily modify it to use AppleScript to tweak the data or make a call out to a Python or Perl script to do even more substantial modifications then bring the information back in. The fundamental purpose of the script is to demonstrate just how easy it is to address cells and rows. Reading data is just as easy — set v to value of cell x of row y — and that opens up a whole host of possibilities, such as using an active Numbers sheet to send data to a web service via a global-hotkey-enabled AppleScript action. Make sure to drop a note in the comments with how are you using the new scripting functionality in Apple's latest iWork suite. Concentric Hosted IT Solutions and Web Hosting Click here to save cost on your IT demands
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Psystar scores small win in battle with Apple
Posted by Dennis SellersMac clone maker Psystar, has scored a “small but significant” win in its seven-month legal battle with Apple, reports ZDNet. A federal judge has ruled that the Florida-based clone-builder can continue its countersuit against Apple.
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Psystar gains a small win from judge in case with Apple
Unlicensed Mac clone maker Psystar had its original counterclaims against the lawsuit brought by Apple dismissed by US District Judge William Alsup in November of 2008. Psystar sought to file amended counterclaims against Apple, including copyright misuse from both the Mac OS X EULA and Apple's claims of DMCA violations, as well as violations of California's unfair competition laws. Now, Judge Alsup granted Psystar leave to file copyright misuse counterclaims, but denied counterclaims based on California Section 17200. Apple naturally opposed Psystar's motion for leave to file these amended counterclaims. However, Judge Alsup found Apple's claim that copyright misuse can only be used as a defense, and not the basis of a counterclaim, didn't quite pass legal muster. He therefore gave the go-ahead so Psystar could file counterclaims based on copyright misuse. On the other hand, since the Section 17200 unfair competition law deals primarily with action that "threatens an incipient violation of antitrust law[s], or violates the policy or spirit of one of those laws," Judge Alsup found that Psystar's claim that Apple's copyright misuse is unfair "fails to explain, however, how this conduct constitutes harm to competition or a violation of the spirit of the antitrust laws." Click here to read the rest of this article
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Microsoft tugs at heartstrings with Windows ad
Microsoft's new Windows ad made its expected debut over the weekend, with a 4-year-old cutie named Kylie showing how easy it is to use Windows Live Photo Gallery to edit and share photos. As I noted last week, Microsoft is pushing ahead with new spots in its Windows ad campaign ...
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One Free Interaction
Chris Noessel on “free interactions”: little do-nothing actions you can take with software or hardware just because they feel satisfying. I do the page-snapback thing with iPhone apps all the time. (Via Buzz Andersen.) ★
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Virtual Programming releases Europa Universalis Rome: Vae Victis
Posted by Dennis SellersVirtual Programming has released Europa Universalis Rome: Vae Victis, an US$14.95 expansion for the historical strategy title. Vae Victus improves upon the base game with expanded options in government, new missions, new decisions, new laws, and a completely revised military AI, according to Inside Mac Games.
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MIT's 6th Sense device could trump Apple's multitouch
School says wearers of its Sixth Sense device can turn any surface or object into an interactive display that recognizes hand gestures
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Poll: do you plan on buying an Amazon Kindle?
Posted by Dennis SellersAmazon.com has released the Kindle 2, the latest version of its digital book reader. So in this week's Macsimum Poll, we're asking if you plan to purchase one of the devices. The poll is located on the right hand side of the home page under the Macsimum Opinion.
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Apple shares hit two-month high, analyst raises company's stock rating
Posted by Dennis SellersApple shares reached a two-month-high Monday, rising $2.58, or 2.6 percent, to $102.33. Shortly after the market opened. FTN Equity Capital analyst Bill Fearnley raised his rating on Apple's stock to buy from neutral and set a price target of $140 on the company's shares, notes MarketWatch.
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Tech Stocks: Apple rises in volatile technology trading
Tech sector struggles through a volatile trading session, even as Apple shares rise on an analyst upgrade.
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EMV Software releases Pixie game for the Mac
Posted by Dennis SellersEMV Software AS and Phelios has released Pixie, an US$19.95 game for Mac OS X (10.4 and higher). A demo is available for download.
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Google Sync debuts for iPhone, Windows Mobile and SyncML devices
Google just announced a new service for pushing Gmail contacts and Google Calendar updates to mobile devices. For iPhone and Windows Mobile devices Google is using Exchange ActiveSync with some limitations due to the beta nature of the service, but it'll also work on many other devices that support SyncML (a vendor list is here). Google Sync works automatically, and replaces all existing contact and calendar information on the device, so sync-er beware -- we wouldn't let Google get close to our contacts without some serious preflight cleanup and maintenance. Google Apps users can enable the service per domain. There's an explanatory video after the break.Continue reading Google Sync debuts for iPhone, Windows Mobile and SyncML devicesFiled under: Cellphones, HandheldsGoogle Sync debuts for iPhone, Windows Mobile and SyncML devices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Kindle 3 should be an iPhone app
Amazon today announced the new Kindle 2 ($259) the successor to its a purpose-built eBook reader. The update is thinner, lighter, has more storage, a better display, better button placement and will be available on 24 February 2009 according to Amazon. Engadget has a posted a hands-on review with video of the K2 in action. The [...]
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News: Google launches Google Sync for iPhone
Google today launched a beta version of its Google Sync service for the iPhone and iPod touch. Google Sync is a two-way push synchronization service that works with Gmail contacts and Google Calendars, allowing users to update information from either their iPhone or iPod touch, using the built-in Calendar and Contacts applications, or from any traditional computer, using the web browser. The new Sync service uses the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync…
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Sega gets rights to publish games based on Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
Posted by Dennis SellersSega Corp. has announced a worldwide agreement with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), exclusive licensee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to once again become the sole approved video game publisher of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada.
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Another Mac clone: say hello to PearC
Not intimidated by Apple’s legal action against Psystar, a German company called PearC is offering “Der PC mit Mac OS X” (”the PC with Mac OS X”) in several configurations, including some with Blu-ray drives. In an interview with Der Spiegel, PearC’s parent Hypermeganet noted that differences in how German law deals with EULAs may mean [...]
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A-lister Woz will soon be "dancing with the stars"
You may know him as the co-founder of Apple, the engineer that single-handedly designed the Apple I and Apple II computers, the lovable geek that teaches programming to kids and plays Segway polo, or even as the short-lived consort of Kathy Griffin. But the world may soon know Steve Wozniak as a ballroom dance sensation. ABC recently announced the contestants for the next season of the strangely popular show, and along with Belinda Carlisle, Jewel, Li'l Kim, Denise Richards, Jackass's Steve-O, and Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson, Woz will be cutting a rug on televisions all across America come March 9. Up here in the Ars Orbiting HQ, we're wondering if all the dancing will cut into Woz's new chief scientist job at Fusion-io. And does Dancing with the Stars rules allow the use of a Segway during competition? We're hoping "yes."
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WWGD? - The PowerPoint
Here is What Would Google Do? - The PowerPoint. If you're going to write a book filled with aphorisms, rules, and one-liners, I suppose the goal is to find them quoted in PowerPoints. So I figured I'd skip a step and provide the PPT myself. We have WWGD?, the Book; WWGD? the video book, WWGD? the audiobook, WWGD? the e-book, soon WWGD? the v-book and WWGD? the iPhone book. So here's one more version in an attempt to cover all possible media. WWGD? - The PowerPoint View more presentations from jeffjarvis. (tags: wwgd google)
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Turn your iPhone into a Web server
A new iPhone app called “ServersMan@iPhone” turns the iPhone into a full-blown Web server. The name is said to be a tribute to Sony’s “WalkMan.” Once the app is installed, PCs on the internet can access the iPhone to upload or download files through a browser or they can use the webDAV protocol. If the PC [...]
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Microsoft readies smartphone assault on Apple
Microsoft is about to announce a new operating system, application store, and file backup service that will help it compete with Apple's iPhone.
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News: SmHeart Link provides iPhone, exercise equipment interaction
iMTP Technology has introduced the SmHeart Link, a new product that serves as a wireless bridge between exercise equipment sensors and the iPhone or iPod touch. The SmHeart Link collects data from distributed health and fitness sensors such as heart rate monitors and cycling sensors and sends it to the iPhone via Wi-Fi. According to the company, the device is compatible with heart monitor chest straps from companies such as Polar, Garmin, Nike, Reebok,…
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Comparing Apples & Volvos: User Maintenance Forgotten
Apple computers have frequently been compared to Volvo automobiles, more due to the perceived political and ideological leanings of a prominent cohort of their respective users (ie: urban liberals) rather than commonality of design and engineering philosophy. Indeed, while Apple has tended to be a design trendsetter, hanging out on the bleeding edge of the avant garde, Volvo's design has typically been conservative, even stolid and deliberately boxy. Don't get me wrong. I've been an admirer of Volvo cars since I first got up close to a 122s at a fall exhibition in New Brunswick back in 1963. Over the years I came to admire the ruggedness and performance of the old Volvo 122s and 544s especially, including ones that were raced on weekends in sports car club events. There was of course the Volvo P1800 sports coupe, and the derivative ES 1800 sportswagon had some Apple-esque pizzazz, but they were largely designed by Italy's Carrozzeria Pietro Frua and initially built for Volvo by England's Jensen Motors. Contemporarily, I think the ES 1800-inspired Volvo C30 is cool, and the forthcoming Volvo XC60 T6 crossover is going to be a choice piece of iron, with a spectacular interior done in white with blue instruments, Light Nordic Oak, and brushed aluminum accents that looks like Apple's Jonathan Ive could have conceived it. However, there's another Volvo-Apple similarity I don't find at all congenial — namely a predilection of both firms to discourage user maintenance and tinkering, taking a superciliously paternalistic stance that any messing about inside their products is better left to “trained experts.” Examples from Apple are the difficult-to-open-and-service iPods, iPhones, and Mac minis, and the not intended to be user-replaceable batteries in the MacBook Air and new 17″ MacBook Pro (although I'm confident there will be ways). Volvo revealed a similar bent several years back with a not-for-production design exercise called the 'YCC' or 'Your Concept Car,' designed by a team made up of 80 percent women to work on a car expressly for women. The YCC team reportedly surveyed some 400 female colleagues about what was perceived to be missing from cars and found three-quarters of the answers were the same. So what did these women want? Well, high on the wish list was no easy access to the engine compartment, with that area of the vehicle enclosed in a single large section, meant to be opened only by Volvo mechanics, with the internals to be worked on with dedicated tools. When the YCC required servicing, it would automatically send a wireless message to a local service station, which would contact the owner to schedule an appointment. This may sound attractive to some folks' way of thinking, but is of course anathema to a lifelong car-tinkerer and do-it-yourselfer like me, and I hasten to emphasize that it's not just a guy thing, as my hotrodder daughter, who drives a Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor and is rebuilding her 1968 440 CID V8 powered Imperial convertible hands-on, would tell you in no uncertain terms. She can swing a wrench and operate a MIG welder with the best of them. It may be deceptively comforting to at least theoretically not have to worry about tedious technical details of automotive maintenance, but what happens when your YCC Volvo conks-out on a highway in the middle of the night and there are no Volvo mechanics with special tools around to get you going again? On the other hand, not all the Volvo YCC ideas were lame. I like anything modular, and seat cushions attached with magnets that can be removed to be cleaned or replaced sound great, although not necessarily for the cited purpose of swapping colors and textures to match fashion outfits, occasions, or even the weather. Analogically speaking, Apple's keep-it-simple, trust us with the details, send-it-in-for-service product philosophy has much in common with the “Lady Volvo” concept, although Apple does tend to blow both ways a bit. For example, the easy-to-get-at access to RAM and the hard drive in all MacBooks and the latest MacBook Pros are excellent examples of the way it should be, but batteries that require the machine to go in the shop for replacements swing hard in the other direction, very much analogous to the YCC's semi-sealed engine hood. Even the respectively touted rationales — lengthy oil change and other maintenance intervals for the car and 3x longer service life for the new 17″ MacBook Pro battery — are cut from the same conceptual cloth, and both have the same conceptual flaw: things rarely go as well in real world experience as they do in theory. My preference in cars or computers is to make everything as easily accessible, take-apartable, and repairable as possible, not just for “trained technicians” but for anyone modestly handy with standard tools. Unhappily, that doesn't seem to be the direction either Apple or Volvo want to go. Pity. Green your IT. Save Money. Save the Planet » Register at $295 / $495 regular » Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM's Green:Net.
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seyDoggy announces Creamux r1 theme for RapidWeaver
Posted by Dennis SellersseyDoggy has released Creamux r1, a $19.49 CAD theme for RapidWeaver 4. RapidWeaver is the web design app from Real Software.
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Apple does well in customer satisfaction survey by IT pros
Posted by Dennis Sellers Apple has achieved a high ranking on another customer satisfaction report—this time, one compiled from the opinions of IT professionals, reports IT Wire. Apple's desktop and notebook business managed ninth place (equal eighth by my reading of the numbers).
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Apple Upgraded: Jobs May Not Be Crucial to Company's Future
FTN Equity Capital Markets analyst Bill Fearnley, Jr. Monday morning raised his rating on Apple (AAPL) to Buy from Neutral. He set a price target on the stock of $140. Fearnley also upped his EPS estimate for the September 2009 fiscal year to $5.66, from $5.19, well above the Street at $5.19. And for FY 2010 he goes to $6.67, from $6.04, above the consensus at $5.94.
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Finally, A Positive Week in the Market
Finally, a postive week for the markets! The markets rallied on hopes that a stimulus package will be passed soon to help the ailing economy. Financials and techs (especially the biotechs) lead the markets higher. The Dow was up +279.73 points; SPX added +42.73 points; Nasdaq jumped +115.29 points! We had a great week as the market conditions continued to improve. It looks like the changes that we've made to our trading strategies are seeing better and better results (this is on top of a good January when the markets had one of the worst opening month in the history)! You really have to have a lot of patience in this environment. We also have fewer open positions at any given time. This has been helping us to stay calm and be able to react quickly when the market fluctuates. We scored 100% green in our trading this week, with an overnight 100%-plus gainer in Google (GOOG)!
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iPhone may not see light of day in China thanks to App Store
Apple's on again-off again negotiations with China's largest mobile carrier, China Mobile, have supposedly come to a standstill yet again. According to Interfax China, China Mobile CEO Wang Jianzhou is none too thrilled with the idea of Apple selling apps directly to China Mobile customers. The latest rounds of talks with both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook came to a standstill when China Mobile supposedly refused to give up sales of smartphone apps to Apple. "Wang said China Mobile should operate the application store itself in order to maintain its advantage," a source told Interfax China. Another sticking point was that the App Store requires the use of a credit card, whereas most customers in China pay by depositing money into their mobile phone accounts. Click here to read the rest of this article
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FlatOut 2
Crashing derby cars in the great outdoors. I love Sundays.If most of your time behind the wheel is spent commuting, hauling groceries, or shuttling a bunch of freeloading kids around, FlatOut 2 for the Macs can help you recapture the thrill of get out your frustrations by ruthlessly smashing every car in sight.read more
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Mark's Recording Studio introduces iRock 1.0 for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis Sellers Mark's Recording Studio has introduced iRock 1.0, a guitar amplifier application for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for US$16.99 at the
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Amazon releases Kindle 2 ebook reader
Posted by Dennis SellersAmazon.com has introduced the Amazon Kindle 2, a new version of the reading device that offers Kindle's wireless delivery of content in a new, slimmer design with longer battery life, faster page turns, over seven times more storage, sharper images, and a new read-to-me feature.
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Typing Genius defies Apple, introduces Emoji support
Emoji support for iPhone has been a hot topic of discussion for the last few weeks. This week, we posted about our unsuccessful effort to put Freemoji onto the App Store. Apple rejected Freemoji for violating section 3.3.4 of the iPhone SDK, as the application wrote to a file that was accessible via Apple's sandbox scheme but that lay outside the normal application container. It turns out that Ars was just one of many parties who decided to add Emoji support to the iPhone using App Store software. Ars reader spicyj told us that he submitted a similar app, which was also rejected. However, not all Emoji-supporting applications got the App Store thumbs down. For example, Gary Fung's $0.99 Typing Genius (iTunes Link) includes an Emoji feature in its most recent update. When launched, the new Typing Genius version looks for Emoji support and enables it if that support is not yet available. Click here to read the rest of this article
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PsyStar wins round in Apple suit
PsyStar scores a victory in its countersuit against Apple, winning a court order that allows the Mac clone maker to amend its antitrust claim to one that alleges copyright mis."use.
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Instant Backup for Mac OS X upgraded to version 1.5
Posted by Dennis SellersZevrix Solutions has released Instant Backup 1.5, an update of the US$9.95 Mac OS X solution to securely back up selected files and folders on-line and locally. The upgrade allows users to back up the selected files and folders directly from the new system-wide Instant Backup menu.
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SMHEART LINK sends workout data, heart rate to iPhones
Although I'm not a big fan of listening to my iPod while running (what can I say, I like to be able to hear approaching cars), there's no denying that iPods and iPhones are very popular workout accessories. Heart monitors are also a popular accessory, and thanks to a new wireless device called the SMHEART LINK, people who use both an iPhone and a heart monitor while working out will be able to view heart rate and workout data on their iPhones. The iPhone already has a number of general fitness applications, like PushupFu, but the SMHEART LINK actually has a few applications designed specifically for the workout data coming from the device. The first app is iNewLeaf, which uses a profile of your metabolism combined with workout data to measure workout intensity and count how many calories you're burning. Next up is iRPM+, which acts as a general fitness meter as well as a cycling computer. Another app, iSPINNING, is a spinning computer. There's also a dedicated heart rate monitor, iBPM+, which is coming soon. The actual SMHEART LINK device itself is a wireless bridge that aggregates data from a variety of sensors, including heart rate monitors and cycling cadence sensors, and then transmits it to an iPhone or iPod touch, where it can be used with any of the fitness applications. The applications themselves are free, but the SMHEART LINK wireless module sells for $155, not including the price of any heart rate or other sensors you may want. You'll even get a bit more of a workout, since you'll be carrying a few extra ounces of iPhone with you on your run.
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Microsoft plays catch up to MobileMe with My Phone
Prince McLean, AppleInsider Microsoft’s answer to portions of Apple’s MobileMe service was expected to be called SkyBox, but the company is now rebranding the mobile data sync service as My Phone, according to pages posted to the company’s Windows Mobile website. AppleInsider | Microsoft plays catch up to MobileMe with My Phone . The original SkyBox name was supposed [...]
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Blaze Mobile Wallet available for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersBlaze Mobile has announced a version of its Blaze Mobile Wallet, a mobile commerce solution for handheld devices, for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for US$1.99 at the Apple App Store.
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10.5: Disable Screen Sharing's 'no encryption' warning
After following this write-up by robg (on how to restore the bonus screen sharing buttons) and enabling the Screen Sharing Bonjour Browser, I have started using Leopard's built-in Screen Sharing.app as a VNC client to connect to a Linux box at work. However, the built-in VNC server I use on Linux does not support encryption, so Screen Sharing displays a warning message about it without an option to disable it. I guess it would be OK if I just had to click 'Continue' every time I had to initiate a connection, but the warning message keeps popping up after half of my mouse clicks during the connection, making it very impractical to use. In the end, this did not turn out to be an insurmountable obstacle. Thank...
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Securely empty trash via AppleScript after 'n' days
I'm fairly new to the OS X world, and noticed that I kept forgetting to empty my trash. That's because, with Windows, I got used to using Shift-Delete, which deletes immediately. I figured that it's better to hold on to those files a few more days before throwing them out, though, so I found my self in need of a script to do this. I started to look around and found two scripts here on this site: A shell script to empty older items from the trash An AppleScript to create a size-limited trash can Although these are very useful scripts, I wanted a script that deleted on the basis of time (like the first one), but does not need to run (the first one needs a cron job) when it's not needed (it's fast, but still..). The limitation of not running unnecessarily rules out these two applications...
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Make GlimmerBlocker work with sites that use Pheedo
I use the proxy-based ad blocker GlimmerBlocker and visit sites, including Macworld, that use Pheedo. I noticed that the Macworld vodcasts were turning up empty in iTunes. The cause, it turns out, is that GlimmerBlocker blocks Pheedo. There is a workaround though -- just create your own list, and add a whitelist for host www.pheedo.com, path /click.phdo with priority 3. Then any Pheedo-using sites will work just fine.
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Article: iPhone Gems: Fifteen Word Games, Reviewed
Even if they're not the flashiest games available for the iPhone and iPod touch, word games are amongst the most universally appealing: some are designed to educate us and enhance our verbal skills, while others simply offer a brief, fun break from everyday stress. Today, we're briefly reviewing 15 word games for the iPhone and iPod touch, a number of which are based on well-known games, while others offer novel new takes on the genre…
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Steve Wozniak coming to 'Dancing With The Stars'
Posted by Dave Merten Steve Wozniak, co-founder or Apple, will be featured on the next season of Dancing With the Stars.
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German company PearC begins selling line of Mac clones
Since Mac clone maker Psystar has been selling its products since April 2008, it has been pretty much the big dog in town for PC hardware with an OS X install... and unclear legal footing. The company hasn't had much competition, but things have started heating up a bit in Europe thanks to PearC, a German company that is offering "the PC with Mac OS X" in a variety of configurations, including some with Blu-ray drives and speedy new processors. Although Apple's lawsuit against Psystar last July has probably had a lot to do with the lack of Mac clone competitors, it wasn't much of a deterrent in this particular case. In an interview with Der Spiegel, PearC's parent Hypermeganet noted that differences in how German law deals with EULAs may mean that PearC's products are legal in Germany. Click here to read the rest of this article
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[Sponsor] iStat by Bjango
Remotely monitor CPU, memory, disks, temperatures, fans, uptime & load averages of any Mac or Mac server from your iPhone. See your iPhone’s stats for memory, disk space, WiFi address, Cell IP address and free up memory on your iPhone. Plus, simply the best ping and traceroute available for the iPhone and iPod touch. On sale for $1.99 (normally $2.99)
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QuickTime to Come With Pro Features in Snow Leopard?
Although I'm not privy to actual sales numbers, I find it hard to believe that there are many people out there buying QuickTime Pro. Yes, the extra features come in handy, but you can't find anything there that isn't available in other, more “free” programs like VLC. Maybe I'm ignoring a whole segment of video editors out there who need the features and need them specifically to be part of QuickTime, but I'm willing to bet that's not the case. For years, Mac users have been annoyed by Apple's refusal to just give in and offer these features as part of the free version of QuickTime that packages with OS X. Perhaps most useful among these features, at least for most users, is the “Save” function that allows you to download QuickTime files that you've played from your browser, including movie trailers and other content normally locked away on the web. According to MacRumors, Apple may have finally decided that the time is right for the Pro features of QuickTime to come without a price tag. That's because users working with the latest Snow Leopard builds are reporting that all the features are enabled out of the box, so to speak. No more grayed-out menu items with little, teasing “Pro” icons next to them, trying to make you feel inferior. This is a great move on Apple's part, if it makes it through to Snow Leopard's full release. Even though I argue above that most people don't generally miss the Pro features, they are definitely very nice to have when and if you find yourself needing them. My favorite use is to save and replay later for others HD movie trailers and Apple ads, so really they're only helping themselves and their partners by helping more people do that for free. Let's hope they don't go and lock it down again when Snow Leopard goes retail. Concentric Hosted IT Solutions and Web Hosting Click here to save cost on your IT demands
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Amazon Kindle 2 announced: $359 on February 24
Just as expected, Amazon announced the second-generation Kindle ebook reader with the exclusive Stephen King novel UR today -- the page actually went live during the press event. The new version will still cost $359, but it's much thinner than the angular original -- in fact, it's thinner than an iPhone at just .36 inches. Arguably the biggest new feature is Read to Me, which can read any content on the device back to you in a decent-sounding computerized voice, but there's also seven times more storage, a sharper 16-level e-ink display that turns pages 20 times faster, 25 percent longer battery life, and a new five-way joystick that improves navigation. Amazon's Whispernet service is also getting a feature bump, adding in Whispersync bookmarking -- if you start reading a book on one Kindle, you can pick up again on any other Kindle automatically. Sadly, it's still only available in white -- the pink Kindle here is just a one-off made to promote UR. Video after the break.Update: We spent some time playing with the Kindle 2 hands-on -- check it out right here!Gallery: Official-looking Kindle 2 pictures, specs and pricing leak outContinue reading Amazon Kindle 2 announced: $359 on February 24Filed under: HandheldsAmazon Kindle 2 announced: $359 on February 24 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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News: Amazon introduces Kindle 2 book reader
Amazon has introduced the Kindle 2, the second iteration of its E-Ink based portable book reader. The new device features a slimmer design with rounded edges and a tapered back, much like Apple's iPhone 3G and second-generation iPod touch. It weighs 10.2 ounces, is .36 inches thick, and features 25 percent more battery life than the original, allowing for two weeks of reading on one charge. Additional storage gives it seven times the book capacity…
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Some iPhoto '09 features also left in the dust for PowerPC
Last week, we told you about how GarageBand's new "Learn to Play" feature—arguably the most popular feature of the latest version—is actually only compatible with Intel-based Macs. It turns out that iPhoto '09 also has a feature that has limited compatibility with PowerPC machines. According to this Apple support page, many of the new slideshow themes introduced with iPhoto '09 are only compatible with Intel-based Macs and G5-based Macs with at least 64MB of VRAM. G5 machines with less than 64MB of VRAM can use the Classic, Ken Burns, Scrapbook, and Sliding Panels themes, while G4 Macs are limited to Classic and Ken Burns themes only. Click here to read the rest of this article
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News: China Mobile iPhone talks break down over App Store control
The latest round of negotiations between Apple and China Mobile have broken down due to a disagreement over control of the App Store, a new report indicates. Interfax TMT China, citing a source at the China Mobile Research Institute, states that China Mobile president Wang Jianzhou outlined the turbulent negotiations on a recent visit to the Institute. The negotiations are said to have gone through three distinct rounds, spanning 18 months and involving…
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Breppies are covers for iPhone, iPod earbuds
Posted by Dennis SellersBrepps Unlimited has released Breppies, covers for iPhone and iPod earbuds. Stock colors are black, blue, pink and orange, but they're available in a plethora of custom colors.
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Preview from Europe: Stocks Shrug Off Yet More Dire Data
There was a perverse reaction to the dismal employment news from the US last Friday with indices rising throughout the session. Looks like no one wanted to be caught short with THAT bank bailout master plan coming tomorrow (16.00GMT) and today's fiscal stimulus. Note that the NASDAQ is now back positive for the year to date with Google (GOOG) (+54%) and Apple (AAPL) (+26%) showing strong leadership. Banks have bounced back strongly albeit from almost penny stock status! So a pivotal few days ahead. But why do I feel that despite the hype it's just more huge cheques without balances. The stimulus seems light on shovel ready projects. The banking 'final solution' looks anything but that; the markets hate delays and wait for no one. The euphoria may be very short lived as pinning one's hopes on a government response to an ever deteriorating economic reality has not proven a winning strategy over these last 18 months.
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News: Orange Austria matches 8GB iPhone 3G price drop
Orange Austria has now matched (Translated Link) T-Mobile's lowered pricing on the 8GB iPhone 3G. Like T-Mobile, Orange is now offering the 8GB model for just €1 when purchased with a €35/month tariff and €14 a month “iPhone Pack,” which includes 3GB of data and 100 SMS texts. T-Mobile first dropped its pricing on the smaller-capacity model last month; curiously, both promotions are slated to end on February 14. It is unclear…
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Movenda releases Let's Pizza for iPhone
Posted by Dennis SellersMovenda will present its latest iPhone application, Let's Pizza, at Mobile World Congress 2009. Let's Pizza is the first and only application which transforms your iPhone into a traditional pizzeria, allowing you to prepare and eat a virtual pizza step-by-step.
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Video: iClooly stand gets extra cleepy, iPhone 3G / iPod touch support
It sure took awhile, but the iClooly aluminum stand has finally been updated to fit your second generation iPod touch or iPhone 3G. Set for release on February 18th, the pivoting and rotating stand still costs ¥4,980 in Japan or $47, um, $54 Stateside. While the rising Yen could account for the delay, there's no way we could possibly explain the motivation for producing the iClooly video posted after the break.[Via Impress]Continue reading Video: iClooly stand gets extra cleepy, iPhone 3G / iPod touch supportFiled under: Misc. GadgetsVideo: iClooly stand gets extra cleepy, iPhone 3G / iPod touch support originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Macsimum review: DataColor Spyder3Studio offers complete color management system
Posted by Dennis SellersBy Steve Baczewski Spyder3Studio (US$599) is an easy-to-use, comprehensive solution for producing an accurate, predictable color workflow—from calibrating and profiling your display to building excellent paper profiles. The package contains the new Spyder3Elite colorimeter and software for monitor calibration and Spyder3Print spectrophotometer and software for profiling paper.
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The Short Case for Amazon.com
The bulls have come out of the woodwork once more, prompting the analysts to get that "giddy" feeling in their attempt to lead us all back to the "promised land", but are they really taking the herd to slaughter? Pump and dump rhetoric is reemerging. The way some are touting the merits of Amazon (AMZN) lately, you would think they discovered the cure for cancer. For God's sake, they are just a retailer! How many of the 592,000 workers who lost their jobs last month are running to the Amazon website to buy goodies? Probably not too many. At AMZN's current earnings, it would take a new buyer of AMZN shares 45 years to recoup his investment-that is a very a long time, which firmly puts its valuation into perspective - 'lunancy'. If you feel compelled to buy at these levels, chances are, you belong in a "rubber room." The impact of the economy: The media tells us we are in a recession. Do they actually know what they are talking about it? I doubt it—they are more interested in ratings than journalistic truth. Why are they not calling this a depression? Do they even know the definition of a depression? Conventional wisdom dictates: when your neighbor loses his job, it is called a recession, but when you lose your job, it is a "depression." Whatever you want to call it, it all boils down to semantics.
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Not a Mean Bone in This Lean Mac App Firm's Body
Not every Apple developer in the world is working on the next great iPhone application. Some, like the people at SmileOnMyMac, still see a great deal of upside in creating programs for OS X-powered Mac computers. Since 2003, the quirkily named company has developed six applications for Mac computer users. Cofounded by partners Philip Goward, Greg Scown and Jean MacDonald, SmileOnMyMac has been profitable since day one. With Goward based in San Francisco, Scown in Castro Valley, Calif., and MacDonald in Portland, Ore., Smile OnMyMac is a true virtual company.
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The Essential Apple: from iGadgets to iGizmos
Posted by Jeff GraberApple has come up with some fantastic gadgets and gizmos over the years. Perhaps this alone has been the reason of their growing success. In fact, Apple pretty much owns the MP3|4 player market with the advent of the iPod in 2001 and the selling of the 100 millionth iPod...
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Sometimes you get noticed
Been traveling a lot (just returned from India!) and haven't been able to check out the Internets. Found this story about me and how Dimdim is much like Apple and thought I'd pass it along. BTW, we are out to change the world for the better. In the future your ability to show someone your computer screen while chatting with them live using VoIP and video will be as commonplace - and as expected - as your email address or mobile number. I truly believe that real time, rich media collaboration the likes of Dimdim will make the world a better place.Why Dimdim? I believe that the future is simply the practical application of common sense. This makes sense. Someone once said, "the best way to predict the future is to invent it." We're literally in the process of inventing the future right now. Come try it out for free, (no plug-in required to try!) and stay around for some stunning new features that will curl your toes real soon now...
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Study: game consoles are most connected CE device, but Blu-ray is on the rise
Posted by Dennis SellersWhile few home network users currently have permanent connections between their Consumer electronics (CE) devices and their home networks, those that do most commonly connect their game console, reports In-Stat. As more connected CE devices become available, the research group expects Blue-ray DVD players/recorders will lead CE network client growth.
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Mac OS Ken: 02.09.2009
Silicon Alley Insider: Examining the Recent Rally for APPL / Apple Hits Forbes â25 Fastest Growing Tech Companiesâ / AT&T to Intro MicroCell for 3G Boost / TUAW: iPhone Carrier Service Update Adds Logos for AT&T MicroCell in U.S. / Palm Recruits Another Ex-Apple Exec for Pre/Web OS Work / Tinycomb.com: Start of the Facebook Ban Rumor / CNET: Apple Says Facebook NOT Banned Across Retail Chain / Silicon Alley Insider: Maryland General Assembly Bans Facebook / Electronista: Microsoft Accidentally Leaks âMy Phoneâ Splash-Page / MobileCrunch: Samsung's Mobile App Marketplace (and Why Itâs a Bad Idea) / Google Makes Book Search iPhone Friendly / Woz Slated for Season 8 of âDancing with the Starsâ (Seriously)
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Macsimum at the Movies: 'Coraline,' 'Push,' 'Pink Panther,' 'He's Just Not That Into You'
Posted by Dennis SellersBy Dennis Sellers, Matt Sellers and Ramona Bissudo It's time for our weekly column of mini movie reviews. This week Dakota Fanning is in the best two film debuts.
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Battery Blues
The Battery section shows us that after just 167 charge cycles, we’re down to 76 percent of the original battery capacity. (The 50 percent figure is for our Bluetooth keyboard’s batteries.)read more
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Cable Recession-Proof? Think Again
The past two years have put paid to a number of myths. Aside from proving that "decoupling" -- the curious notion that the rest of the world could somehow keep chugging along despite the unraveling of the U.S. economy, representing a quarter of global gross domestic product -- was a fraud dreamed up by highly-paid Wall Street "strategists" who couldn't forecast their way out of a paper bag, events have also debunked the popular belief that some sectors are recession-proof. Among the sectors most often cited as being immune to the fallout from a faltering economy is the entertainment industry. According to those who allegedly know best, when people don't have money to spend, they will still manage to keep themselves occupied with various forms of escapism, including cable television. Unfortunately, what these experts failed to take into account is the fact that no small number of individuals may decide that paying nothing at all for a little less choice is a bargain worth taking.
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The Mac Night Owl: 'are Leopard bugs a thing of the past at long last?'
Posted by Dennis SellersOn today's commentary, Gene “Mac Night Owl” Steinberg asks, “Are Leopard bugs a thing of the past at long last?”

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HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp
The HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp has upsides, but doesn't offer as much value or audio quality. When it comes to personal entertainment, few experiences are more deliciously self-indulgent than listening to great music on a pair of exceptional headphones connected to a really good headphone amp.read more
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Study: Cell phone industry faces unprecedented challenge in 2009
Posted by Dennis SellersAfter 25 years of stellar growth, the cell phone (also known as mobile phone) industry faces huge challenges this year from a poor economy and a lack of new features, reports In-Stat. The bleak cell phone industry outlook is unprecedented, with dramatic ramifications for device manufacturers, semiconductor manufacturers, and mobile...