May 27, 2010 May 29, 2010 Friday May 28, 2010
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How would you change Apple's Core i7 MacBook Pro?
Apple's secrets have been getting out a bit more than usual over the past couple of months, and few were shocked when Intel's newest slabs of silicon slithered beneath the unibody shells of the freshest MacBook Pros. The Core i7 rig in particular drew attention, as this was the first MBP to surface with components within capable of rivaling Wintel machines from half a year ago. One thing that struck us in our own review of the unit was the lack of change outside of the CPU; you're still dealing with the same underwhelming arrangement of ports, and unless you opt for the 17-incher, you're still wondering why Apple ganked your ExpressCard slot. Enough of our ranting -- we're here to hear what exactly you have to say about Apple's newest MacBook Pro. Would you have added in USB 3.0 ports? Finally caved and threw in a Blu-ray option? Added a "Flash-capable" sticker in the palm rest? Go on, get creative in comments below.How would you change Apple's Core i7 MacBook Pro? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 01:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | |Email this|Comments
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Microsoft and Apple still in talks for Bing iPhone search option, Google is not on notice
What turned into a pretty frenzied rumor this afternoon ended up being much ado about nothing, but there is something noteworthy. As the story goes, TechCrunch reported that Microsoft was going to completely replace Google with Bing as the search engine of choice for the iPhone once OS 4 launches next month. Enter All Things Digital's Kara Swisher, who has a pretty strong track record on all things Redmond. According to her sources, what's being discussed isn't a full swap -- instead, Bing is being considered for an "option" that users can decide between. None of this is what we'd call brand new gossip, and in fact, it sounds exactly like what we heard back in January. So, discussions still seem to be ongoing four months later, which is pretty interesting. For its part, the original TC article has been amended to say the issue is "more complicated" than originally presented. Hey June 7th? You really can't get here fast enough.Microsoft and Apple still in talks for Bing iPhone search option, Google is not on notice originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 22:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | TechCrunch, All Things D |Email this|Comments
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Large crowds for iPads overseas; supply questions remain
Friday appears to be a big day for Apple as it begins sales of the iPad outside the U.S., according to reports. Supplies of the tablet, however, may be limited overseas.
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Bluetooth headset comes with its own iPhone app
Filed under: iPhoneThe Sound ID is a Bluetooth headset with its own iPhone app. EarPrint is an app created just to control the sound of the headset -- you can tweak the audio in and out, change volume, and even find a lost headset directly from the iPhone itself. Not exactly revolutionary (personally, I've never really found a reason to use a Bluetooth headset -- when the actual iPhone didn't work for me, the wired headset works fine), but it's a nice bit of added functionality, especially if you know you'll always be using this headset with an iPhone. The Sound ID is available for $130 (there are many cheaper BT headsets out there, but for the money it's a respectable piece of tech), and the EarPrint app is free.TUAWBluetooth headset comes with its own iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments iPhone - Bluetooth - Headset - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Sound
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Report: Bing search for iPhone deal in place
A report says Microsoft's search would replace Google as the default option on Apple's phone.
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Free texting on an iPhone
Pinger has waived the $5.99 fee on its Textfree iPhone app letting folks send and receive text messages for free.
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One on One: Brian Lam of Gizmodo.com
In an interview, the technology blog's editorial director discusses his boxing gym background, "spy shots" of gadgets, and the iPhone 4G story.
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Found Footage: Honoring Apple from 1976 to the Italian introduction of the iPad
Filed under: iPad In honor of the Italian release of the iPad, iPadItalia has created one of the best Apple-oriented videos I've ever seen. In 10 minutes (yes, it's quite long for this type of thing), the video lovingly covers Apple from its origin in 1976 right up to today when those in Italy, and many other countries, can finally get their hands on the magical and revolutionary iPad. The video is totally professional and really deserves recognition. With frenetic energy, just about every Apple product is displayed. It is a valentine to Steve Jobs, even showing him age from 15 to 55, and ending up with rejoicing over the European introduction of the iPad. This is a video that will warm every fanboy's heart and really captures the excitement that we've felt about Apple over the last 34 years. Enjoy!TUAWFound Footage: Honoring Apple from 1976 to the Italian introduction of the iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments Unofficial Apple Weblog - Apple - IPad - Steve Jobs - Italy
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AT&T prepping MobileProtect insurance program for iPhone?
Shots of some docs over on BGR have us believing that AT&T is on the cusp of launching a program called "MobileProtect," but don't be fooled by the fancy name -- this is basically an Asurion-operated handset insurance plan just like any other, the only real difference being that it's for the iPhone and offered directly by the carrier. Interestingly, it seems that you'll buy the protection through the App Store of all things, automatically billing the credit card that you've got on file with Apple, but you'd better really want the protection because it's going to run $13.99 a month. Oh, and you'll have to pay a $99 deductible to fix an 8GB 3G, scaling up to $199 for a 32GB 3GS. To put that in perspective, that means it'll cost you $367 to replace an insured 32GB 3GS after a year of coverage, at which point you'll say "well, I'd rather have an iPhone 4 anyway" and shell out $200 with an upgrade pull-ahead. Yeah, call us jaded.AT&T prepping MobileProtect insurance program for iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | BGR |Email this|Comments
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Report: AT&T to offer insurance for iPhones
One of the major complaints customers have with the iPhone and AT&T could finally be addressed on June 6, according to The Boy Genius Report.
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News: Last weekend for the Schlage LiNK Giveaway
Time is running out on our Vaja $100 Gift Code Giveaway. In our Giveaway of the Month for May, iLounge and Vaja are giving away five $100 Gift Codes good towards purchases made at VajaCases.com. To enter, simply fill out and submit the form on the giveaway page—the giveaway will end on May 31, 2010 at 11:59PM Pacific Time. Good luck! ...
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More concerns over suicides at Foxconn
Filed under: Apple CorporateThere was more bad news out of China this week -- manufacturer Foxconn (who makes quite a few parts for Apple devices) has been dealing with a rash of employee suicides, as low pay and long hours on the workers seems to be taking their toll. Yesterday, another worker reportedly tried to take his own life, and there are reports of more than 15 other attempts within the plant. Apple has responded, saying that they're working closely with the company to try and solve the issue. In order to do that, the company claims it's going to raise wages by 20%, although it's not clear yet when or how that plan will be implemented. It also says that some employees will be relocated closer to their homes -- about a fifth of the workforce will be moved to plants closer to their families. Apple isn't alone in helping Foxconn deal with the problem, either -- Sony, Nokia, Nintendo, Dell, and HP all get parts from these factories and are pressuring the company to do better. Finally, John Gruber points out that as bad as this Foxconn story is, it might not be all that remarkable, unfortunately. Even with the reported 13 suicides, Foxconn has over 800,000 workers, which means the company's suicide rate is below the national average in China, and China is number 15 on the worldwide list. But numbers and averages aside, a death is a death, and everything Foxconn can do to help their employees lead better lives should be worth it.TUAWMore concerns over suicides at Foxconn originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments Apple - Sony - China - Foxconn - Nokia
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News: AT&T to offer iPhone insurance for $14 a month?
AT&T is preparing to offer insurance plans for iPhone users, with pricing set at $14 per month, according to a new report. The Boy Genius Report has posted photos showing internal AT&T documents outlining the new service, which will be called MobileProtect and will be activated by downloading an app from the App Store. According to the report, the plan will be run by Asurion, with monthly charges billed through the app to the user's…
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Alert! Carrie Bradshaw is not (yet) a PC
The promise of Carrie Bradshaw dumping Apple for an HP PC is not realized in "Sex and the City 2." Instead, her old Macbook Pro is seen and the iPhone is not shown in the best light.
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Greg's bite: Department of Justice looks at the 'Big Apple'
Posted by Dennis SellersBy Greg Mills In the title of this article, I am speaking of the Giant Electronics Firm, not the city by the same nickname. It seems incredible for those of use who took no end of ridicule over the year that we were “one of those”: un-PC Apple computer, non-conformists.
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The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:15PM EST!
It was a quiet week in tech news, but we popped the lid off some big things today, so we'll have plenty to talk about on the podcast -- won't you join us? We'll be live at 5:15PM EST, but the chat's open below, so get comfy. P.S.- And hey, don't forget that Ustream has Android and iPhone apps if you're out and about and can't join in on the Flash-based fun below. Is that deeply ironic today? Yes, it is.Continue reading The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:15PM EST!The Engadget Podcast, live at 5:15PM EST! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | |Email this|Comments
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First Looks: Kodansha/Mobile Art Lab PhoneBook Ride! Ride!
It's the first such book we've seen: Kodansha and Mobile Art Lab's PhoneBook Ride! Ride (aka PhoneBook Popo and Momo Ride! Ride, 2980 Yen/$32) combines the old world strengths of a cardboard children's book with the new capabilities of iPhone and iPod touch apps. After purchasing the book, users download the free PhoneBook - Ride! Ride! app from the App Store, turn it on, and then insert it into the center of the printed PhoneBook design. Foam…
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It's Retro Gaming Time with Prince of Persia
Ubisoft has announced it, and the App Store has released for your gaming pleasure this serious old school classic. Originally predicted by Touch Arcade, at long last it has arrived. In Prince of Persia Retro (iTunes link), you have one hour to defeat the evil vizier Jaffar (are all bad cartoon viziers named that?) and rescue the Princess. Along the way there'll be deadly swordsmen to defeat, mazes to unravel, chasms with spiked bottoms to leap across and more dangers.Image Source: Touch ArcadeOriginally played on the Apple II back in 1989, this game will delight older fans who remember it well. Newer gamers might laugh at the simplistic screens and animation, and gamers with fatter fingers, we hear, might find the virtual controls causing some unforced errors. But a classic game that's universal across the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad platforms for only $0.99 and no haggling in the marketplace? You'll wonder where Memorial Day weekend went when you're through with this one.
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Analyst expects iPad to pass Mac
Analyst Ashok Kumar sees shipments of the tablet device leaping ahead of the Mac by September. Also, production levels for the next-generation iPhone should hit 12 million by then.
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Review: Chillingo Monster Mayhem
Just like Plants vs. Zombies, you're tasked with stopping the advances of a zombie horde that moves from the right side of the screen towards the left, and as the game progresses, the action is interrupted with trading card-like introductions of new characters. The 20 characters are predictable in concept—faster ones, slower ones, ones who shouldn't be hurt—but they're amusingly executed: cartoony wolfmen, Frankensteins,…
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Sony, Nokia express concern over Foxconn suicides
The electronics makers join Apple, HP, and Dell in saying they're pursuing their own investigations into the working conditions and number of suicide attempts at the contract manufacturer's factory.
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Apple patents on-phone shopping list, e-checkout
Filed under: iPhoneApple has patented the idea of using a mobile device "to acquire pricing information for a shopping list of products," which basically sounds like an official version of SnapTell Explorer -- point the camera at something and then get a list of available prices for it. But this patent goes a step beyond that. It also suggests that a "mobile device" user could scan a full list of products, and then possibly even buy them directly from the phone. I imagine that's something like walking around a grocery store, scanning items as they go in your cart, and then checking out wirelessly from your phone. We've seen a "pay-by-phone" system in place before, but this sounds like a much larger system. And of course, security concerns would come along with it, so it'll probably be a while before you use your phone to check out in a major store. Still, even though there are lots of Apple patents coming down the pike that might never actually get implemented, I'd much rather deal with my phone than a line and a surly cashier.TUAWApple patents on-phone shopping list, e-checkout originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments Unofficial Apple Weblog - Apple - IPhone - Patent - Mobile device
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iPhone/iPod/iPad apps for May 28
Posted by Dennis SellersHere are the latest iPhone/iPod touch/iPod/iPad apps announced. You can find 'em at the Apple App Store.
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Dave Winer on an Apple TV Without Local Storage
Dave Winer: I’ve said it before and it’s worth saying again. Apple is building the Disney computer network. All the streets are clean, and the entertainment too. There’s no porn here, and as long as there are no ports it’ll stay that way. Decreasing the amount of storage inside the Apple TV is interesting, but sort of obvious once you think about it running iPhone OS. No iPhone OS device has ever supported hard disk drives, and I doubt they ever will. And solid state storage is expensive. It’s all about streaming and caching. You’ll get Apple-sanctioned content from the iTunes Store, but I’d wager you’ll be able to stream any H.264 content you want over the web, or from any Mac or PC on your home network. You won’t need USB ports to watch porn; you’ll just need Wi-Fi. You won’t be limited to iTunes Store content any more than you are with the existing Apple TV today. ★
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Engadget Gets Wind of K66, the iPhone OS-Based Next-Generation Apple TV
The code name has been in the iPhone OS 4 beta SDK for months. Joshua Topolsky reports: Not only will this be priced to sell (like hotcakes), it seems that Apple is moving away from the model of local storage, and will be focusing the new ATV on cloud-based storage (not unlike Amazon’s streaming scheme, though we’re talking instant-on 1080p, a la Microsoft). The big question — which I do not know the answer to — is what the interface is going to look like. It certainly can’t be a direct touch interface. You can already use an iPhone/iPod Touch as a remote for the existing Apple TV; presumably that’ll still be an option, but I don’t think Apple can sell a $99 set-top box that requires a $199 remote. And will there be a TV app store? If so, when? (Maybe not right away.) A web browser? ★
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Free App Fridays: Astronomy
With summer fast approaching, and a well-deserved three-day weekend just around the corner, we thought we'd equip you with a few free apps that help you learn more about the world above us--the stars. The galaxy is a place in a long, long time ago that's far, far away and though there's no epic John Williams music blasting through our brains when we're staring up above, there's definitely plenty to learn about it. And if you're not interested in the stars, then maybe you can use these apps as ideas to spark up conversations at future cocktail parties. iPadAstronomy Picture of the Day When you're bored on your commute home and you need some visual stimulation, the Astronomy PIcture of the Day application not only houses some of the most epic photos of the sky we've ever seen, but it could also inspire you to spend a little time on the roof top this evening admiring the atmosphere up above. You can easily cycle through images from days before, and there's an info button that lets you know from where the photo was taken and what you're looking at. MacStellarium You probably never thought about having such a gorgeous application installed on your MacBook, but Stellarium has some pretty neat features. For starters, it's used in Planetarium projectors around the globe. The program pulls information from GPS satellites to show you exactly where the stars and planets are aligned at any given moment, regardless of time of day, though you'll have to select what city you're currently in. This is definitely one of those free apps that you should have installed on your computer because not only is it pretty to look at, but it's also very educational. Fire up the app before nightfall and then head outside to see if you can match the constellations on the application with the ones up above. iPhoneHoroscopes and TarotOh, stop it. We know that some of you out there are really into Astrology, and are just dying to know what's in store for the future up ahead. Fortunately, this free app gives you instant, free advice at just the touch of a button, including a daily reading from a live psychic representative. So, if you're leaving your fate up to the stars above, this might be an app to include in your daily routine. Bonus: you can even spam your Facebook wall with your horoscope for the day!
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Afternoon Edition: Cloud-based Apple TV
Motorola bets big on Android and Verizon, Android users can now stream Sirius XM satellite radio, and leaked details about a new $99 Apple TV are very intriguing.
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JooJoo creator rips into the iPad, says an app store only sells 'stripped down versions of actual websites'
Fusion Garage CEO and JooJoo creator Chandra Rathakrishnan has certainly discussed the iPad before in talking up his own tablet, but nothing could have quite prepared us for the bit of bombast he unleashed on the occasion of the iPad's international launch. While he started out with the usual line that the "JooJoo delivers the entire Internet -- including Flash-based websites," he soon took things to a whole new level, saying that "we don't see the need for an app store," because "an app store sells stripped down versions of actual websites" -- stripped down websites like Brushes, KORG iElectribe, and Real Racing HD, we suppose. Believe it or not, however, Rathakrishnan didn't let things sit there, and apparently went on to describe the iPad as just "another storage device with web capabilities." Of course, there's at least a chance Chandra was actually paying the iPad a compliment, since a "storage device with web capabilities" would be a pretty big step up from the JooJoo.JooJoo creator rips into the iPad, says an app store only sells 'stripped down versions of actual websites' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Tech Digest |Email this|Comments
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Minor league baseball team offers free tickets to iPad owners
Filed under: iPad The New York Yankees may not want anyone to take their iPads out to the ball game, but one minor league team is giving iPad-toting fans free tickets. Every Monday night is "iPad Monday" for the Hudson Valley Renegades. If you were turned away from the gate by those snobby Yankees who apparently don't want their shiny new $1.5 billion stadium tarnished by digital toys, just hop in the car for a hour-long drive to Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, NY. There you'll be greeted with open arms and a free general admission ticket (while supplies last) to the game. The Renegades are a short-season Class A ball club, and they're definitely embracing the digital age. Not only will you and your iPad find a welcoming smile at "The Dutch," but the team is also going to help you set up or update the Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare accounts on your iPad. That way, you'll be able to tell your other cyber-buddies about the nice free ticket you're enjoying while they're sucking down $10 beers at Yankee Stadium. [via Mashable]TUAWMinor league baseball team offers free tickets to iPad owners originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments New York Yankees - Unofficial Apple Weblog - IPad - Facebook - Hudson Valley Renegades
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Symantec pushes security to Android, iPhone
A new initiative called Norton Everywhere will aim at securing smartphones and other non-PC connected devices, as well as DNS-based Web filtering.
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Survey: iPhone owners are the happiest
Apple's iPhone scores tops in satisfaction among smartphone owners, followed by Motorola in second place, according to ChangeWave survey.
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Want PSD Files On Your iPad? Inquiring Minds At Adobe Want To Know!
We all know about the love-hate relationship between Adobe and Apple. But apparently Adobe may be trying to ease their way back in by asking customers whether or not they would like to be able to view native Photoshop, or PSD files on their device, according to 9to5 Mac.John Nack, a former Photoshop Product Manager with Adobe popped the question on his blog:"I periodically hear requests for the ability to view Photoshop PSD files on devices like the iPad (for example, browsing files that one has synced via Dropbox).This is obviously a capability that Adobe could build. The question of course is whether we should build it (as opposed, say, to building something else)."Nack also has some other questions in mind such as:-Would you be bringing your portfolio on the road?-Would you be taking the files somewhere to print them?-Would viewing just a flat representation of the files be sufficient, or would you want to interact with layers (for example, to switch among layer comps in order to show design iterations)?-Would you pay for such a capability? If so, how much?Here is the link to Nack's blog, should you feel so inclined to take some time out to answer his questions.
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Week in review: Facebook resets privacy strategy
CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveils big changes to privacy controls, but they're not enough to silence critics. Also: Justice Department inquires about Apple's hold on digital music.
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Apple applies for patent to resume media playback on another device
Remember that "Continuous Client" piece that was burning up the pages of Alt the other day? Well, we might get one sliver of it fulfilled if Apple has any real plans for implementing this concept they're in the process of patenting. The idea basically uses cloud syncing to let a user pause a song or video on one device and then resume it from that same spot on another device -- perfect for Apple's little phone / PC / TV ecosystem. Not exactly earth shattering, and probably half as complicated as this diagram makes it out to be, but would certainly be convenient. You're going to do something cool like this right after you make good use of Lala, right Apple? Right?Apple applies for patent to resume media playback on another device originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 14:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.PermalinkAppleInsider | USPTO |Email this|Comments
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News: iPad 3G users overwhelm Vodafone UK's server
The rush of new iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G owners looking to activate their devices has brought down the activation server of Vodafone UK. Macworld UK reports that a Vodafone call center said “the server has now been down for a couple of hours” and that the company currently can't activate any Micro SIM devices. Both Vodafone and Orange in the UK require iPad users to call in for activation, while O2 customers can activate their service…
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Apple HDTV: an iPhone without a screen; 1080p
Ahh, you readers. Prescient, you are.It wasn't an hour after a pressed “publish” on my story about a reader's speculation that the Apple TV would get a refresh at Apple's WWDC on June 7 that I saw this post on Engadget about just that.According to its sources, Apple TV will indeed get a major refresh at WWDC, actually it's more like a completely new product. The story goes like this: the new Apple TV will be based on iPhone OS and will include an A4 chip, 16GB of flash memory, cloud storage and 1080p high-definition output. Word is that the new device will only have two ports, power and video out.Storage will be on the cloud, but it remains to see how Apple will charge for it. I sincerely hope that Apple doesn't plan on charging $100 per year for storage (like it does with MobileMe) or it's simply taunting the jailbreak community to build a better mousetrap — and they will.Sources describe the ATV sequel as “an iPhone without a screen,” but the real kicker is the price - rumored to be $99. I'm calling it the “Apple HDTV,” but feel free to chime in in the TalkBack with your prediction. For $99, I'd buy one.I don't know about you but my current Apple TV almost never gets turned on, except for when there's a software update to write about. The damned thing runs so hot that it will literally singe your fingertips and there's no power switch or sleep mode (that I'm aware of) so it's an electricity vampire. Apple TV meet Craigslist.So riff away fair readers… would you buy the new and improved Apple HDTV for $99?
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Your Macsimum Podcast for May 28th
Posted by Frank PetrieToday on Your Macsimum Podcast: “Let's See What Develops,” “Here We Come Verizon?” “Things To Come,” and ”...Story 4.”
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Live Chat: Celebrate the worldPad with TUAW
Filed under: iPadDid you felt left out in April when the iPad hit the US? Well, we at TUAW haven't forgotten you! Please join us today as we discuss all things iPad as Apple's latest gadget goes global. Welcome to our World Wide iPad chat! If you've just received an iPad or have one on order, then this is the chat for you. New owners and waiting customers are welcome to share tips, ask questions, compare models, and more. We'll have TUAW iPad enthusiasts on-call to answer questions, offer help, and guide this live chat event. Come join Erica Sadun, author of the upcoming "iPad Developers Cookbook" and Steve Sande, who has been working on the upcoming "Taking your iPad to the Max" guide for Apress in this free-for-all no-holds-bar chat! worldPadTUAWLive Chat: Celebrate the worldPad with TUAW originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments Unofficial Apple Weblog - IPad - Apple - Steve Sande - Chat
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SlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta preview
We can practically hear the collective sigh of relief among Slingbox owners now that Sling's finally just about ready to push out a version of SlingPlayer Mobile for Android -- by far the biggest hole in the company's lineup of mobile players ever since the iPhone version went live. This is no mere port, though; the company is boasting that it worked hard here to reduce load times, meaning the total wait you've got from app load to the time you're actually seeing General Hospital should be less than you're accustomed to, and that's a big win in our book. Check out our quick impressions (and video) after the break!Continue reading SlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta previewSlingPlayer Mobile for Android beta preview originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 28 May 2010 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | |Email this|Comments
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15 Things We Might See at WWDC 2010
After search giant Google hurled a barrage of not-so-subtle spears in Apple’s direction at the Google I/O developer conference, all eyes are now on the World Wide Developer Conference that Cupertino will be launching June 7 with a keynote from CEO Steve Jobs.While a fourth-generation iPhone is a given at this point after an absurd number of leaks in recent weeks, Apple CEO Steve Jobs himself promised an inquisitive e-mailer only a few days ago: “You won’t be disappointed.” So we put our thinking cap on and came up with this list of cool stuff we might see when WWDC 2010 kicks off June 7 and wraps up on June 11.Safari 5 (or maybe 4.5)We think Safari is still pretty great, even against more recent challengs from Google Chrome and Firefox 3.6. But with the Chrome browser finally out of beta this week, Apple may have to work harder to pound out Safari’s remaining limitations.Among them: No API for extensions, as noted this week by Daring Fireball’s own John Gruber after Google’s announcement that Chrome is now officially “stable.” That means that great third-party software like 1Password and Evernote has to resort to kludgy hacks to work intimately with Safari. Heck, even good ol’ Adobe Flash might work better with an API (stranger things have happened). Gruber also calls out Apple for not empowering Safari with a true ability to automatically reopen pages left open when the app was closed. Yes, please.New Mac Pros -- Finally!The poor Mac Pro has certainly gone neglected, with its last update more than a year ago. Worse yet, the desktop behemoth still carries a form factor borrowed from the Power Mac G5 before it -- and in computer years, that makes it a veritable dinosaur.Although we’ve heard plenty of rumors about Intel’s new six-core Core i7-980X processor landing in a refreshed Mac Pro as far back as January and February of this year, the summer has arrived and there’s still nothing official on the radar. Creative professionals are likely worried about Apple’s silence with regard to such new hardware, but that could all change with one presentation.Mac OS X 10.7Many developers are also rightfully worried that this year’s WWDC is too focused on iPhone OS, and many questions remain as to when Apple might shed some light on their intentions for Mac OS X 10.7. Granted, Snow Leopard 10.6 was released only last September, but that update was more about optimizing Leopard 10.5 than adding hot new features to the Mac (unless you count getting back a bunch of hard drive space as a “hot” new feature).Our prediction is that Mac OS X 10.7 will get at least a cursory mention at WWDC 2010, and we won’t get a real preview of a new desktop operating system until WWDC 2011. Thankfully, Snow Leopard 10.6 runs like smooth, creamy butter most of the time -- and Apple keeps the updates coming regular enough to squash anything that comes up, with a 10.6.4 patch already in beta testing.iPhone OS 4.0 for iPadWe’ve already seen all of the cool stuff that’s presumably coming next month with iPhone OS 4.0, such as Folders, multitasking and threaded e-mail. But we were bummed to hear that the fresh new iPad won’t get the 4.0 love until sometime this fall, by which time Apple will likely be on 4.1 or so.Here’s hoping that Apple will give us at least a peek at iPhone OS 4.x for the iPad at WWDC -- after all, developers will certainly appreciate a longer lead time to rework their apps for the tablet device after having to rush them together between late January and early April for the U.S. iPad launch. The rest of us will just have to wait… and weep.The Real Apple TV Take 2Remember back in January, 2008 when Apple took the wraps off “Take 2” of its “still a hobby” Apple TV? Despite a price drop, closer ties with iTunes and the ability to purchase content directly from the box itself, the Apple TV has continued to bore most everyone who sees it, except for the die-hard hackers who continue to squeeze as much as possible out of the device’s anemic processor and (gasp!) Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system by way of unsanctioned apps like nitoTV and Boxee.We figure the time has come for a truly revolutionary overhaul of Apple TV, especially now that arch-nemesis Google is breathing down Apple’s neck with Google TV, slated for release this fall. Rumors abound that Apple TV may get iPhone OS-ified and will adopt the tiny A4 architecture that will come standard in the next iPhone. Additionally, the new Apple TV will have 1080p HD and 16GB of storage, as well as be a part of Apple's rumored new cloud storage network. The best part about these rumors is that the device is slated to sell for only $99, which will make die hard Apple fans with a tight budget extremely happy. MobileMe: Now With More Free!Recent rumors have speculated that Apple may take a cue from Google and start offering their cloud-based MobileMe service absolutely free to all users. While that would no doubt raise the ire of longtime .Mac users who have paid good money each year to stay with the often-questionable service, it’s really the only recourse Apple may have to keep up with Google now.MobileMe itself isn’t spectacular as it exists now, save for its awesome push e-mail, Find My iPhone, contacts and calendars. The recent web-based Mail beta shows that Apple is taking baby steps toward improving the service, but they’ve got a long ways to go yet. Let’s see that acquisition of Lala start moving iTunes into the cloud, for instance, and speaking of that...iTunes in the CloudSince Apple purchased Lala.com, pundits have been short-circuiting their craniums trying to guess exactly what Cupertino plans to do with the technology -- and equally as important, when that fateful day might arrive. We’re not so sold on the idea of having iTunes “in the cloud” -- call us old fashioned, but it’s kind of nice to actually feel like you own your music, especially now that it’s finally DRM-free.Be that as it may, Apple now appears late to the cloud-based music game, with Google stepping up to the plate to make Android such a cloud-centric experience. We’re not sure that WWDC is the right forum to finally reveal what the company is doing with Lala’s brains, but surely Apple will have to play their hand soon enough.NEXT: iPhones, iTunes and the MacBook Air>>A Fourth-Generation iPhone No One is ExpectingWhat if Steve Jobs got on stage for his keynote on June 7 and presented an iPhone that was totally different from what Gizmodo and others have leaked? A new report this week from Digitimes has posed just such a possibility, and proposes that the project, codenamed “N91” -- the leaked iPhone we’ve already seen is “N90” -- may exist as “a parallel product to back up the N90 in case there are major delays due to significant modifications in casing, display resolution, digital camera support and so forth.” The report goes on to describe the backup product as more similar in style and form to the existing iPhone 3GS.At this point, everyone is expecting the leaked iPhone (which has been dubbed “iPhone HD” by pundits) to allow some kind of video chatting thanks to the widely exposed leaks of the device with a front-facing camera. Would you be disappointed to see the equivalent of an “iPhone 3GS Plus” at this point? We would...Final Cut Studio 4Sure, we know that the third generation of Final Cut Studio was only released last year, but the update offered little in the way of new features and seemed to take away more than it gave (especially for PowerPC owners, who are now permanently relegated to Final Cut Studio 2, as the newest version requires an Intel processor). The biggest problem with Apple’s pro video suite is that, despite the big 64-bit push with Snow Leopard 10.6, none of Final Cut Studio is 64-bit native -- and those applications could use it.It might be out of character for Apple to unveil a new Final Cut Studio at WWDC, but given the recent hysteria among video professionals upon hearing rumors that the high-end software might be “dumbed down” to make it more consumer-centric, any news on its future would be good news.iTunes 10Speaking of apps that could use a 64-bit kick in the pants -- Apple, what’s going on with iTunes? Despite being the center of the known universe for all iDevices, iTunes continues to be upgraded on top of molasses-like legacy code. It’s like living in a parallel universe, knowing that the Windows version of iTunes is actually faster than it is on the Mac -- that speaks volumes.While cool new features would be welcome also, the reality is that iTunes hasn’t grown all that much over the last few major releases -- does anyone really use the Genius feature, for instance? Where is the built-in lyrics feature for music? (Apple added a section for such metadata several versions back, but you have to do the footwork yourself.) Or how about better media management capabilities, now that we’ve got ever-bigger video files to sync to our iPad but are running out of space on our internal hard drives?iTunes 9.x feels pretty kludgy by this point, so anything is welcome here -- but keep in mind that most big iTunes updates tend to come later in the year, often coupled with the release of new iPods.iLife ’11Maybe we’re starting to sound like a broken record here, but iLife ’09 is another Apple package that’s getting long in the tooth, and could also use a much-needed 64-bit transfusion. We can’t be the only ones who notice that iPhoto, for example, starts to bog down the more we throw pictures at it, so… there’s that. And don’t get us started about iMovie, which for all of its simplicity is an absolute speed dog when you actually have to use it.Hey, perhaps we’re just impatient -- but it seems to us that for all the advancements in the processor and graphics speed of our Macs, it doesn’t take long before all this great software starts to bog down. iLife ’11 might be a few more months in the oven, but it’s never too early to request that Apple slow down on the new features and pull a Snow Leopard here: Let’s see some performance tweaks!iPhone OS + Jailbreak = LoveIf Apple really wanted to make heads spin at WWDC, they’d put down their swords and start playing nice with the jailbreak community. You know, those guys (and gals?) who tirelessly work to free iPhone OS from Apple’s shackles so we can install stuff that Cupertino wishes didn’t exist in the first place, including a GSM unlock for our iPhone (which also frees us from AT&T’s heavy ball and chain at the same time).Frankly, the “cat and mouse game” (as Steve Jobs himself has referred to it) has kind of landed in favor of the jailbreak community anyway of late, with even the latest iPhone OS 4.0 beta build being easy prey for the jailbreak geniuses. Maybe it’s time for Apple to stop worrying and love the jailbreak, officially opening up the device to other apps beyond their gated App Store walls. We can dream, can’t we…?MacBook Air, ReduxNow that the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines have gotten a souped-up refresh and the iPad is on the scene, the MacBook Air is beginning to look a little more overpriced and underpowered than usual. Even though the device is barely two and a half years old, it may be time for Apple to either put it out of its misery or rework it as a touchscreen-enabled, lust-worthy member of Cupertino’s notebook lineup.It’s not hard to imagine that one day soon, the MacBook Air might very well become the “iPad Extreme” -- think of an iPad with attached hardware keyboard, maybe even capable of dual-booting both Mac OS X and iPhone OS so you can get the best of both worlds. We might line up for that one!iPhone Goes CDMAWill they or won’t they? An iPhone compatible with the CDMA networks used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint here in the U.S. has been rumored and desired since the device took center stage at the Macworld 2007 keynote, and here we are more than three years later and AT&T continues to have an exclusive clamp on the GSM-only device.Of course, rumors have run rampant in recent months that AT&T’s exclusive contract is about to end, and that possibly both Verizon and Sprint will finally get in the iPhone game -- to the detriment of AT&T, who is reported to lose possibly as much as 40 percent of its customer base as they defect to one of the CDMA carriers. No better time to announce such a device than at WWDC, where an annual refresh of the iPhone hardware is expected to be a lock.All we ask is that Apple make it an “all in one” device -- meaning both GSM and CDMA, so we can sign in blood with Verizon, Sprint or AT&T here and then have the freedom to buy local GSM-based SIM cards for international travel. Is that asking too much?Presenting… Something Totally New?Apple has had a busy year refreshing its Mac hardware, announcing and subsequently launching the iPad and prepping for the rumored fourth-generation iPhone expected in June, but what if we’ve all overlooked something totally new? Cupertino would seem to have all of the bases covered, from laptop and desktop computers, portable media devices, mobile phones and peripherals -- but that doesn’t mean they can’t still sneak in a curve ball to “shock and awe” us.The question is, what might that be? Only Steve Jobs and maybe a handful of others in Cupertino presumably know the answer to that question, but Apple has a way of dazzling us by reinventing something we’ve always taken for granted, such as the cell phone (with the original iPhone in 2007) or even our very definition of “portable” music (the original iPod in 2001).Whatever it might be, you’re almost certainly guaranteed to have never needed it before, but you’ll surely have to have it once Steve Jobs whips it out. That’s just how Apple rolls.*****Of course, WWDC isn’t simply about hot new Apple products -- it’s about the company intimately working with third-party developers to create the next generation of software that we’ll all swoon over. One thing that the iPhone OS-based devices have shown us: The future is less about hardware and more about the software that runs it.Viewed in that light, the developer conference isn’t simply a “gee-whiz” keynote with fancy new toys from Apple, but rather a plentiful seeding of developer talent that will grow over time and continue to harvest wonders for years to come. We can’t wait to see what Apple helps them create next!
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Apple TV makeover looming?
A new version of Apple TV will be intended for streaming video and will be based on the iPhone OS and chip.
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First Looks: Sumajin Ink Silicone Case for iPad
It's the best case Sumajin has yet made for an Apple device: Ink ($35) combines a very smart rubber skin in your choice of seven colors with a clear screen protector and no other frills. The excitement is in Ink's aggregate level of protection, which includes flip-open Dock Connector and headphone port covers, a very unique set of redirected speaker holes to let iPad's audio come out in front of the device rather than underneath it, and full button…
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Some further thoughts on the rumored next Apple TV
Our report this morning that there may be a new Apple TV, based on an Engadget scoop is going to cause a lot of chatter. A new Apple TV is a step the company has to take, and frankly, if it came out today it would be at least a year late. The article says the project has been in the works for a long time, and the projected price being tossed around is U.S. $99.00! That's a pretty competitive price, but the devil will be in the details. If it's just a vessel to buy from the iTunes store, it doesn't seem a very exciting product. On the other hand, it it connects to Netflix, as the iPad already does, the whole idea gets a lot sexier. It also will need the content the current Apple TV has, like YouTube, MobileMe integration, podcasts and more. If they add services like Pandora, MLB TV, NBA games and more then they might really be cooking. Roku already has a $99.00 Netflix box with some additional streaming services, but if Apple allowed iPad/iPhone apps to be scaled up for TV viewing the whole concept gets really, really interesting. TUAWSome further thoughts on the rumored next Apple TV originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments Unofficial Apple Weblog - Netflix - Apple - YouTube - IPad
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Photos: The iPad Lands in More Countries
Apple fans around the world waited in line to buy the company's latest offering.
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IRC on the iPad: Colloquy and Linkinus
Filed under: iPadI was originally going to do a "TUAW Smackdown" for iPad Internet Relay Chat (IRC) clients, but after testing both mobile Colloquy and Linkinus, there's not a lot of smacking to do. Both apps are well-written, solid offerings that I can wholeheartedly recommend. They allow you to set up your connections, enter your credentials, and easily hop into and out of chat rooms as needed. Using IRC chat is a big deal for Mac and iPhone developers. It's a great way to find peer-to-peer support. Sites like Freenode and OSX86.hu give you access to hundreds of other developers to consult with in real time. Engineers from a major fruit-named corporation frequent popular chat rooms, offering unparalleled technical access. Having a useful IRC client on the go can be golden, so it was important to me to find a good one for the iPad, and both of these clients are excellent. When it comes to price, Colloquy is the clear winner. The iPad version of Colloquy sells for US $1.99 at the App Store. Linkinus costs about four times more at $7.99 for its iPad version. In terms of bang for your buck, both are good buys, though. I don't think you'll be dissatisfied with either one. Gallery: iPad IRC clientsTUAWIRC on the iPad: Colloquy and Linkinus originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink|Email this|Comments iPhone - Unofficial Apple Weblog - App Store - Apple - IPad
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Big Changes Ahead for Apple TV
Apple TV looked about ready for the dustbin in recent years, especially with great free media center PC alternatives available like Boxee and XBMC. And with the recent announcement of Google TV, it sure looked like Apple's foray into the dedicated home entertainment industry was pretty much done for. But that's not so, according to a report by Engadget. A tipster, whose story has also been confirmed by another source very close to Apple, tells the gadget blog all about the next iteration of the Apple TV. And it's not what you might expect. Instead of an incremental update (more storage, better output, etc.) the Apple TV will undergo a complete overhaul, and in the end won't look much like the device people have come to know (and possibly, though not likely, love). The next iteration of Apple TV will actually build on Apple's strength as a mobile device company, by being, essentially, a mobile device. If the tipster and the collaborating source are correct, the new device will be based on the iPhone 4, including the A4 CPU and only 16GB of internal storage. It'll support full HD 1080p output using those guts, though, so don't get too worried. And it'll also depend more on the cloud than on local storage for delivering content. More on iPad iPad Mania Begins as iPad LaunchesInternationally Mac Love Dell Streak: iPad Competition or DesignBlunder? Mac Love 5 iPad PresentationTips Mac Love Apple to Open Stores Early for International iPadLaunch Mac Love It's being described as an “iPhone without the screen” and should only have two or three ports (video out and power). And what will you pay for this mighty mini machine? $99. That's it. If the price point is true, then it'll definitely give Google and company a run for their money. Especially if it runs iPhone OS and is as portable as it seems to be. Imagine being able to take all your TV content with you wherever you travel. Quite the proposition. Despite the move towards streaming and away from local content, you'll be able to use a Time Capsule as an external storage device, so all those movies and shows you've downloaded won't be for nought. iPhone and iPad app integration is a definitely possibility, and one that has my heart racing. Finally I can play Warpgate on a screen where I can actually make out the details of the starships! That's provided Apple adds support to the iPhone SDK for upscaling, which I hope it will. And Scrabble with iPhones and iPads combined with the Apple TV anyone? This is shaping up to be the perfect storm of tech convergence within a company. Throw in some official support for a Boxee app on this device Apple, and you've got a guaranteed customer right here. No word on when it will arrive, but let's cross our fingers for a WWDC mention or two. For those interested in cloud computing or data centers, check out our Structure conference in June.
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More Price Support in Apple's Future
As Apple (AAPL) continues to reap the benefits from its revolutionizing consumer electronics with its stylish and easy to use products, the technology company has become the second largest U.S. company and is poised for additional short-term growth. On Thursday, Apple closed at $253.35 per share, adding nearly 3.8% with a market capitalization of $239.3 billion. This uptrend has pushed shares of the company nearly 10 times higher than they were 10 years ago. This exponential growth has primarily been driven by the success of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, all innovative products that have been hits with the consumer.
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Apple.com is the Second Most Visited Online Retailer
Click to embiggen image.According to comScore, Apple's online store is now the second most visited online retailer only behind Amazon. Walmart has moved to third position as Apple moved into the #2 spot.The study does use unique visitors across all of Apple's websites to gauge the visits, so the numbers could be slightly skewed.According to the report, Apple continues to attract new visitors to its site with a traffic increase of 19% over last years numbers. Of interest is that Dell experienced a 19% drop in traffic from last year.The graphic above shows how Apple fairs compared to other major online retailers.via MacNN
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Rumor: Apple TV Getting a Huge Update
Apple TV is coming back and it will most definitely be the best it has ever been. Engadget has received a tip that the new Apple TV will tie in greatly with Apple's mobile offerings--think iPad and iPhone. Additionally, rumors are circulating that the innards of the device will greatly emulate that of the iPhone 4, meaning it might come equipped with an A4 processor and a smaller amount of flash storage--more like a very limited 16GB. The new Apple TV will also be capable of a full 1080p, and the size of the device is actually quite small with only a power socket and a video out.The reason that the device will have such a tiny amount of internal storage is because Apple is looking to move its loyal patrons into the clouds, with a cloud-based storage system that can instantly play videos in 1080p. The new Apple TV will also eliminate the slim version of OS X and adopt the iPhone operating system for an easier experience with the device, though there is no word on whether or not the App Store will follow with it. The real kicker is that the device is only going to cost $99, which should make it accessible to just about anyone willing stay locked in with iTunes for their media. There will be no official Apple TV news at WWDC, though we're definitely looking forward to what Apple has in store for our televisions.
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News: iLounge Weekly on its way, sign up today
The latest edition of iLounge Weekly, our weekly newsletter covering all things iLounge, is coming later today. iLounge Weekly is a summary of the week's best news, reviews, and feature articles we’ve published, and it also features giveaways and iPod accessory discount offers from various companies. There’s still plenty of time to sign up and receive this week's edition — just use the simple form below to submit your email address,…
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MarketWatch First Take: No iPad for you, NBC and TBS
Apple suffers a rare public setback when NBC and TBS decline to put their content on the iPad, writes Jon Friedman.
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WWDC Rumormill: iTunes.com, new Macs, and more
There are a ton of rumors floating around the forthcoming WWDC keynote. We've collected some of them here for your reading pleasure.iTunes.comWith the purchase of Lala.com, Apple really had us stumped. We know they do music, but what will they use the music streaming service for? The rumor mill has spoken and people believe that Apple could be creating a cloud-based (Internet-based) iTunes service that could reportedly allow users to stream their music to different devices. However, AppleInsider believes that the use of streaming through iTunes would constitute "multiple uses," therefore the music labels might want a larger chunk of money to keep them happy.New MacsYeah, we know that Apple seems to be spending a lot of time, money, and energy promoting their mobile devices like the iPad, but new rumors suggest that Apple could release some updated Macs at WWDC. After all, you do need a Mac to create iPhone OS apps! Among the speculated updates are the MacBook Air and Mac Pro. Also long due for an update is the Cinema Displays. It would be nice to see an LED backlit Cinema Display.New iPhoneSo the iPhone 4G was already leaked? Yeah, okay. I guess we don't have anything else to say about this rumor--after all, it's an almost certainty that Apple will release a new iPhone per their yearly revamping process. Who knows, we may be surprised and see some never-before-seen updates to our favorite little gadget.Verizon iPhoneThere have been rumors surrounding a Verizon Wireless iPhone since the device was launched in 2007. We have yet to see this come true, but based on recent events, we can't help but think that carrier exclusivity is about to end for Apple, AT&T and the iPhone. TheStreet recently reported that we could see a Verizon deal as soon as November.Do you know of another rumor that we haven't covered? Let us know in the comments, or send us a Tweet (@MacLife).
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Shogo 10-inch Linux tablet is a Qooq minus the recipes -- and the feet (video)
Last year's Qooq tablet hardly made much of a splash in the gadget industry, despite its cooking prowess and silly little feet. Now, the manufacturer behind the device, Realease, is shaving down the appendages and ditching the recipes to create the Shogo, a 10-inch, capacitive-touch Linux tablet. Two models will be offered with Freescale processors, one with the i.MX37 and another with the faster i.MX51, and much of the device's functionality will be provided through a webkit-based browser. We're a little unclear about the distribution plans here, as it really sounds like Realease would prefer to sell this thing in bulk to businesses than individually to shlemiels like us, but the thing apparently could go into mass production within a few months. Will it? Let's just say we're not quite as excited about that possibility as Charbax gets in the demonstration video below.Continue reading Shogo 10-inch Linux tablet is a Qooq minus the recipes -- and the feet (video)Shogo 10-inch Linux tablet is a Qooq minus the recipes -- and the feet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | ARMdevices.net, Realease |Email this|Comments
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Is Apple Prepping a Cheap, Cloud-Based TV for War With Google?
By MG SieglerThe idea of putting iPhone apps on the Apple TV has been something some of us have been thinking about since at least 2008, when the original App Store launched. When rumors were swirling about Google TV, it became an even better idea as the living room was likely to be a new battleground for Apple/Google. And with the unveiling of Google TV last week, it became clear that this would be a next major fight — provided Apple started taking it seriously. Soon, they will be, if Engadget's sources are correct.
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Revealed: Next Apple TV will be $99, feature cloud storage
Filed under: Apple TVWell part the skies and let the doves descend. It looks like the Apple TV will evolve into a more desirable machine before too long. Quoting a tip that was "confirmed by a source very close to Apple," Engadget reports that the next incarnation of Apple's set top box will feature cloud storage (awesome), the same internals as the upcoming iPhone (meaning an A4 processor!) and be capable of full 1080p HD. Be still our hearts. They go on to describe it as tiny, "an iPhone without a screen," and costing only US$99. Yes, one hundred bucks. While cloud storage will be the machine's default, those who want to keep things local can use a Time Capsule as a storage component. This thing sounds like the Apple TV I've personally been waiting for. How soon can we have it, Steve?TUAWRevealed: Next Apple TV will be $99, feature cloud storage originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments Apple - iPhone - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Time Capsule - Television
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Analyst expects new Mac Pros, iTunes.com to be unveiled at WWDC
Posted by Dennis SellersIn a note to clients Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu is expecting some big announcements beyond iPhone OS 4 and a likely new iPhone at June's Apple Worldwide Developer Conference. Among them is a new Mac Pro.
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Barnes & Noble Releases eReader for iPad
When Apple introduced the iPad, it was instantly touted as a competitor to the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. The difference between the iPad and those other devices though is that the iPad can run other programs – including those by Amazon and Barnes & Noble – making it an all-in-one proposition. Barnes & Noble released an eReader program for the iPhone a while back [iTunes link], but now they've released a version for the iPad as well. My mother first told me about this early yesterday, so I downloaded the program, gave it a whirl, and here's the results. The iBooks system is almost an identical copy of the iTunes store in that you buy an item, download it to your device, and use it right there and then. If you sync the device to your computer, you then can sync the item to other devices in your chain. It's quite simple. Barnes & Noble iPad app [iTunes Link] is a bit different. You go to the B&N app on your iPad and click the “Add Books” icon. That takes you to Safari and the B&N website, where you choose your book and pay for it via a credit card of your choosing. You then open up the B&N iPad app, download the book, and type in the credit card number to confirm that it was actually you who purchased the book. Then you read. This is not a simple process, and syncing the book to other devices is just as much fun. There is an app for the iPhone and Mac OSX (as well as the PC), so you can download those same books to whatever device you want. The same process applies – the verifying of books with your credit card – but otherwise, you can have one book in multiple places. This does bring up a bit of a problem if you're the type to have multiple credit cards, as you may not be able to remember which book was purchased with which card. And should you download a book to your iPad and then decide a month later you want to read it on your Mac, that can be a tough proposition. Although this is just a different way of handling DRM, it isn't a very Mac-like experience. The book reader, however, is a different story. Flipping through the pages of a book I downloaded was simple. Want to bookmark a page? Click on the plus symbol in the lower right corner and it dog ears the page for you, just like you might on your own book. Want to search for a word in the dictionary or on Wikipedia? It's right there. You can even highlight a word, although highlighting passages didn't work for me unless I clicked on each word. There's even a theme selection, making the text look like it's on a Nook, white text on a black page for night reading, or other aesthetic choices. Thing is, it doesn't quite feel like a book the way iBooks does. The pages don't flip, they slide. And when you turn the iPad horizontal, you spread out the page which in some cases can leave quite a bit of negative space on the top and bottom of the screen. It's got some nice features, but it's not quite as polished and clean as I would like. It just doesn't feel like I'm reading a real book, like it does in iBooks. But where the B&N app shines is the selection. Look up almost any of my favorite authors in iBooks and I can't find them. B&N not only had them, they had enough selection to make browsing through the virtual racks a real experience. When I'm in iBooks, I feel like I'm in that second-hand bookstore down by the Whole Foods that doesn't have a copy of Twilight, but does have 13 copies of Tom Jones' biography. Ultimately, I'm going to use the B&N app, if only for the selection. Until iBooks gains more books on the virtual shelves, it just doesn't fit all my needs. And even though the B&N app sucks everywhere else, it does have enough to choose from that I can look over some of the flaws. Besides, it's free – there's not much to lose by just trying it out.
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★ Tynt, the Copy/Paste Jerks
Over the last few months I’ve noticed an annoying trend on various web sites, generally major newspaper and magazine sites, but also certain weblogs. What happens is that when you select text from these web pages, the site uses JavaScript to report what you’ve copied to an analytics server and append an attribution URL to the text. So, for example, if I were using this “service” here on Daring Fireball, and you selected the first sentence of this article, copied it, then switched to another app to paste the text you just copied, instead of pasting just the sentence you selected and intended to copy, you’d instead get: Over the last few months I’ve noticed an annoying trend on various web sites, generally major newspaper and magazine sites, but also certain weblogs. Read more: http://daringfireball.net/2010/05/tyntcopypaste_jerks/#ixzz0oyLiD4Qh I.e., three blank lines followed by “Read more:”, then the URL from which the text was copied, then an identifying hash code used for tracking purposes. Among the sites where I’ve seen this in use are TechCrunch (example) and The New Yorker (example). The JavaScript tomfoolery happens with most text copied from the site — whether you’re copying the entire article, a paragraph, or a sentence. For fragments of a sentence, the behavior changes between different sites. On the New Yorker web site, copying up to seven words from an article works normally — no attribution URL is appended. Copy eight or more words, however, and you get the attribution appendage. On TechCrunch, the attribution appendage again only kicks in for selections of eight or more words. However, on TechCrunch, if the selection consists of only one to three words, when you invoke the Copy command (either by keyboard shortcut or the menu item), you get a popover with search results for the selected text that appears over the contents of the article itself. Madness. All of this nonsense — the attribution appended to copied text, the inline search results popovers — is from a company named Tynt, which bills itself as “The copy/paste company”. It’s a bunch of user-hostile SEO bullshit. Everyone knows how copy and paste works. You select text. You copy. When you paste, what you get is exactly what you selected. The core product of the “copy/paste company” is a service that breaks copy and paste. The pitch from Tynt to publishers is that their clipboard jiggery-pokery allows publishers to track where text copied from their website is being used, on the assumption that whoever is pasting the text is leaving the Tynt-inserted attribution URL, with its gibberish-looking tracking ID. This is, I believe, a dubious assumption. Who, when they paste such text and find this “Read more:” attribution line appended, doesn’t just delete it (and wonder how it got there)? It certainly isn’t being appended to help the person copying and pasting the text. The person copying the text knows where it comes from. If you look at Tynt’s list of client sites, most of them are newspapers and print publishers. It’s no surprise that some of these publications would agree to such a terrible idea — they have no respect for their websites or for their readers. It is surprising, to me at least, that a magazine of the caliber of The New Yorker would agree to it, and it’s even more surprising that a weblog like TechCrunch would go for it. Now, the nature of my work writing Daring Fireball involves copying and pasting many snippets of text from web sites every day. So this Tynt stuff probably annoys me more (or at least more frequently) than most people. But TechCrunch is itself a weblog that quotes passages from other websites frequently. They’ve instituted a feature that they themselves surely find annoying. I presume Tynt has plans to eventually insert ads into copied text, but as far as I’ve seen, they aren’t doing so yet. I have no idea what TechCrunch or The New Yorker think they’re getting out of this service. They’re burning some measure of goodwill from their readers in exchange for URL tracking analytics from Tynt identifiers that most people, I bet, delete as soon as they see them after pasting. And even if it does work well — if, in fact, a significant number of people leave the tracking URLs from Tynt in place after they paste — the idea of websites tracking what users copy from their pages is creepy. Whatever their justification for using Tynt is, I’ll bet it involves repeated use of the phrase “biz dev”. All they’re really doing is annoying their readers. Their websites are theirs, but our clipboards are ours. Tynt is intrusive, obnoxious, and disrespectful. I can’t believe some websites need to be told this. How to Block Tynt on a PC or Mac If you use Chrome, you can install this Tynt-blocking extension, which does just what it says on the tin. However, you wind up getting a dialog box each time you encounter a different site using Tynt. (Although only once for each site.) What I’ve chosen to do is edit my /etc/hosts file to block access system-wide to the tcr.tynt.com server. This is the server from which the Tynt JavaScript code is served to all its “partners”. Making changes to the hosts file requires administrator privileges, for obvious reasons. If you’re not completely comfortable making changes to an essential Unix configuration file, don’t. This Lifehacker article by Gina Trapani has a good overview of where to find and how to edit your hosts file on Mac OS X or Windows. (BBEdit and its free sibling TextWrangler are my preferred tools for text editing, and both allow you to save files with admin privileges.) Here’s the line I added to the end of my hosts file: 127.0.0.1 tcr.tynt.com After saving the hosts file, Tynt’s clipboard-altering nonsense is disabled on all Tynt-using websites I’ve encountered, no matter which browser I use.
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Reality Check: Seth Weintraub and the AT&T Android Mystery
Daniel Eran Dilger Seth Weintraub is concerned an “Apple effect” may be interfering with AT&T in its bid to join other US mobile providers in selling an Android-based iPhone runner up, apparently without realizing that AT&T has the actual iPhone. . I’m not making this up. Weintraub talks about how all the carriers in the US, apart from AT&T, [...]
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Next version of Apple TV to reportedly use iPhone OS
Posted by Dennis SellersWe were hoping that Apple would get serious about its “hobby,” the Apple, TV, and according to the “endgaget” web site, this is finally going to happen.
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Super Bowl Winners App Helps Us Forget Roethlesberger
Do you remember who won the 1970 Super Bowl? I know Joe “Willy” led the Jets to win in 1969, but how about ’70? How about the 1989 Super Bowl? Give up? At least you’re not thinking about the numerous NFL headlines of “Big Ben” for the moment. The free “Super Bowl Winners” application turns the iPhone into a quick American football history lesson. Bet with friends as to who actually played in the big game from any given year and wow them, and their wallets, with your knowledge! The “Super Bowl” App gives a bare bones crash course for a brief Super Bowl history, and the winners that played, in list form on the touchscreen of the iPhone. The free version is strictly American football, but for $1.99 the World Series, Stanley Cup, NBA Finals, MLS, MISL, NPSL, ASLII and NAFL championships are given as well. The Super Bowl history is based around the NFL AFL merger and the first championship game involving both leagues, in 1967. The game wasn’t actually declared the Super Bowl until 1969, and did not give out the Lombardi trophy until after Vince Lombardi died in 1970. This handy “Super Bowl” App even includes all of the previous NFL Championship winners before the actual Super Bowls, when the AFL was a separate entity, though sadly the AFL’s championships have been left out here. For the curious fan out there the “Super Bowl” App confirms that Jerry Rice’s San Francisco 49ers won the 1989 Super Bowl, and the 1970 champs were the Kansas City Chiefs. Enjoy! IMPULSIVE Review Grade: B+
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Verizon iPhone due by the holidays?
Posted by Dennis SellersApple has bumped up its iPhone production plans, which include a Verizon iPhone that will be available for the holidays, according to a report at TheStreet.
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News: Next Apple TV to sell for $99, be iPhone OS-based?
The next Apple TV will be based on the iPhone's operating system and will sell for $99, according to a new report. Citing an anonymous tip which was confirmed by a source “very close to Apple,” Engadget reports that the next Apple TV will share its architecture with the fourth-generation iPhone, including an A4 CPU and a limited amount of storage—16GB, according to the report—while offering full 1080p HD output. The report…
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NBC & Time Warner Sticking With Flash – Is This Fight Getting Old Yet?
Apparently, Apple versus Adobe is the tech field's Chevy versus Ford. I, for one, am pretty tired of reading about this petty crap, so I've decided to stay away from reporting it for the most part. That was the case anyways, until yesterday. Time to address it, I suppose. The NY Post is reporting that Time Warner and NBC Universal are going to keep their online offerings in Flash and not rewrite the code for another option because it will cost them money. Though the iPad has been a huge hit, media companies are feeling emboldened in their rebuffing of Apple by the launch of rival touch-screen tablet devices, such as the ones coming from Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard, sources said. In addition, one media executive pointed out that Apple's ability to dictate terms to the media giants will be weakened further by Google TV, a software product that enables viewers to watch online video on their big-screen TVs. Read: “We're not betting on Apple, we're going to put our money on Google to save us with a product that as of right now is vaporware.” Look, here's the deal. Times change. Flash will not be the only way people consumer video on the web for all eternity. Standards change. Formats change. Eventually, something better than Flash will come along and we'll all use that instead. Some say it's the new HTML5 standards, others may bet on something else. Whatever it is, Flash will not be the only option forever, just like iTunes will not be the only way we consume our music and movies. Things change. The problem is when those things change, not everyone is cool with the way the transition is handled. From my perspective, Flash is handling this like a big baby. It took them until CS5 to come up with a system that was coded specifically for the Intel processors, three years after the fact. And CS4 is great – if you like programs that crash all the time and hog resources. Apple isn't innocent in this situation, either. I completely get why they're doing this: Apple isn't willing to work Flash into their OS because Adobe has proven to them, time after time, that they won't keep up with their own technologies at Apple's pace. As a result, screw them. It's that last part that's working people the wrong way, and making Apple appear like a bully to poor, innocent Adobe. Here's the facts: Most people out there have no idea what Adobe Flash is. They may know that they've needed a Flash player to watch that porn they downloaded, but they don't necessarily know what it is. So to them, Apple is the bad guy, telling them they can't have something that they're not sure they want. Meanwhile, millions of people have been using iPhones for years now, all without Flash. Tell me, how many of them are complaining? I'm not, and I don't know too many people who are. I'm tired of this argument. If NBC and Time Warner don't want to change over then let them stay with Flash. 5 years from now they'll be recoding their libraries anyways to match some other new technology anyways, and they'll just be one more step behind the curve. And when that happens, and it cuts into their profits, then it's their own fault. As for Apple, I think they should stop talking about this. They've spoken their final words, so let's leave this sleeping dog to die. And with that, I'm now done talking about Flash. Until the next time it's news, I suppose.
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Nokia, Opera side with Adobe on Flash
The companies offer two more votes of support for Adobe in its public battle with Apple over Adobe's Flash multimedia software.
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Lines form as the iPad goes on sale internationally
Filed under: iPadWe're getting reports from across the globe this morning as the iPad reaches another round of customers. In Japan, where anticipation is high, lines formed at the Ginza flagship store on Wednesday -- two days in advance. Reuters reports that over 1,200 queued up to buy the device. In Paris, customers lined up in the basement of the Louvre Museum. Businessweek reports that the line to buy an iPad was longer than the line to see the Mona Lisa. Tech Radar reported that "hundreds" of people were outside London's Regent Street store on Friday morning. Even Stephen Fry was there, despite the fact that he already owns one. Apple sold 1,000,000 iPads during the first 28 days of availability in the US, where shortages continue. If this reception is any indication of the iPad's performance in the international market, Apple's biggest problem might be simply keeping up.TUAWLines form as the iPad goes on sale internationally originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments Apple - London - IPad - Japan - Regent Street
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How Rumors Can Burn You
(Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, casting a spell over a crowd. They later all bought a Windows Mobile phone) Back on Wednesday, there was a rumor floating around about WWDC. A very specific rumor mind you, down to the exact timing. It was reported by Tech Trader Daily, and it went like this: Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with tiny Global Equities Research, contends that 7 minutes of the June 7 keynote by Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been blocked off for a presentation by Microsoft (MSFT) to talk about Visual Studio 2010, the company’s suite of development tools. Chowdhry says the new version of VS will allow developers to write native applications for the iPhone, iPad and Mac OS. And here’s the kicker: he thinks Microsoft’s presentation could be given by none other than Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. (Or if not, at least Bob Muglia, who runs Microsoft’s server and tools business.) I wonder if Trip could be more specific. This floated around the 'net yesterday, and then this came up from Microsoft's Twitter: Steve Ballmer not speaking at Apple Dev Conf. Nor appearing on Dancing with the Stars. Nor riding in the Belmont. Just FYI. Whoops. Tech Trader Daily updated their post and then added this new one: Well, okay, now I feel like an idiot. Contrary to what he was claiming yesterday, Trip Chowdhry, of Global Equities Research, now says he was wrong, and that Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer will NOT actually be at the Apple (AAPL) Worldwide Developers Conference. And he says there will NOT be an announcement from Microsoft at WWDC. He nonetheless says his contacts “insist that both MSFT and AAPL are working on development tools – probably our timing is off.” Sigh. Don't worry author Eric Savitz, I don't blame you at all. You just reported what you found, you didn't make the claim yourself. That is ultimately what I and so many other bloggers do; we report what we find, and don't necessarily fact check our facts. As a former copy editor, I don't often publish something here unless it's been corroborated on a few different sites. That doesn't mean that it's accurate, but it does mean that if I'm wrong, so is half the web. But rumors like this start to hurt your credibility. The next time Trip Chowdhry tells a crowd of reporters anything, I'm sure it will be discarded like an empty tube of toilet paper. I don't want that to happen to me, or to Apple Gazette. If it's published here and I wrote it, chances are there's some form of backup for my statements. If it's pure conjecture, I'll always say so, and if it's a rumor, you'll know that as well. Ultimately, I don't want my name and Trip's spoken in the same sentence. Unless, of course, it's referring to this post.
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News: AT&T claims 40% of iPhone sales to enterprise
An AT&T executive recently claimed that four out of every 10 iPhones the company sells go to enterprise users, according to a ZDNet report. Speaking at the Barclays Capital Communications, Media and Technology conference, Ron Spears, CEO of AT&T's Business Solutions unit made several comments regarding the iPhone, including its transition to an enterprise-ready device. “Four out of 10 sales of the iPhone are made to enterprise…
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The Ratings Game: Apple iPhone still not at 'saturation point'
Despite blow-out sales of the iPhone in the March quarter, brokers believe Apple Inc. still has plenty of upside left for the device.
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Donovan's views: iPad resellers model expanded in Australia
Posted by Dennis SellersBy Gaurang Donovan Apple stated in its US press release of March h29 that the “iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores, most Best Buy stores, select Apple Authorized Resellers and campus bookstores.”
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Presented By:
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Spotlight indexing may hang if Finale is installed
Some '.mdimporter' files in the Spotlight folder may cause problems. There is another reason Spotlight may hang - if you are a musician and have Finale 2010 installed, the file 'Finale.mdimporter' causes endless Crash Reporter entries in Console, and the indexing will either show a completion time of several days, or simply not ever finish. Removing this file and restarting Spotlight (using a utility or CLI command, or just restarting) fixes the problem. The file is found in /Library/Spotlight (note this is the root level Library, not the one inside System or Users folder). There are several other '.mdimporter' files in that folder, to evidently assist Spotlight, and I have not had a problem with any except this one from MakeMusic. [crarko adds: I haven't tested this one.]
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Network abstraction framework for Cocoa/CocoaTouch apps
After trying to find a simple and elegant way to make my applications talk to each other over the network (and being tired of digging through all the socket related C API every time), I found a very nice network abstraction framework. ThoMoNetworking is completely Objective-C, requires less then ten lines of code to use, and works both on the desktop and on all of Apple's mobile devices (iPhone and iPad). A disk image with the framework libraries, source code, documentation and examples are available from the developers' site. Some of the limitations of the library are also pointed out there, and you should read them before using it. ThoMoNetworking gives you client and server classes that connect automatically via Bonjour - nothing to do on your side. Pass an object to the server, and it will pop out at the client, and vice versa. If you want, have your object distributed to all connected clients in one go. It cou ...
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Long lines in Europe, Asia to buy Apple's iPad
Technophiles mobbed Apple Stores in Europe and Asia on Friday in a quest to snatch up the hottest gadget of the moment the iPad.
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Antitrust lawyer: Apple vulnerable in iTunes antitrust probe
Posted by Dennis SellersFederal antitrust regulators may be able to build a case against Apple over its iTunes business because the company has a dominant share of the U.S. music download market, an antitrust lawyer told Computerworld. The size of Apple's share matters to the government, according to Hillard Sterling, an antitrust attorney at...
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The next Apple TV revealed: cloud storage and iPhone OS on tap... and a $99 price tag
If you thought that Apple's foray into the world of home entertainment died with the last iteration of the Apple TV, you're quite wrong. A tip we've received -- which has been confirmed by a source very close to Apple -- details the outlook for the next version of the Apple TV, and it's a doozy. According to our sources, this project has been in the works long before Google announced its TV solution, and it ties much more closely into Apple's mobile offerings. The new architecture of the device will be based directly on the iPhone 4, meaning it will get the same internals, down to that A4 CPU and a limited amount of flash storage -- 16GB to be exact -- though it will be capable of full 1080p HD (!). The device is said to be quite small with a scarce amount of ports (only the power socket and video out), and has been described to some as "an iPhone without a screen." Are you ready for the real shocker? According to our sources, the price-point for the device will be $99. One more time -- a hundred bucks. Not only will this be priced to sell (like hotcakes), it seems that Apple is moving away from the model of local storage, and will be focusing the new ATV on cloud-based storage (not unlike Amazon's streaming scheme, though we're talking instant-on 1080p, a la Microsoft). For those still interested in keeping their content close, there will be an option to utilize a Time Capsule as an external storage component, but the main course will be all about streaming. The new ATV will do away with its current OS X-lite variation as a operating system, and will instead adopt the iPhone OS for the underlying experience. There's no word at this point on whether apps and the App Store will be coming along for the ride, but it makes sense given the shared platform. Of course, scaling iPhone apps to that 52-inch plasma in your living room isn't exactly a no-brainer. Perhaps not surprisingly, Apple won't deliver the ATV news at the upcoming WWDC -- that event will be focused on the capabilities of the new iPhone -- but development on the product is most definitely full steam ahead. Is your TV screen the next battleground in the platform wars? Survey says: hell yes.The next Apple TV revealed: cloud storage and iPhone OS on tap... and a $99 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 10:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | |Email this|Comments
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Could an AppleTV refresh be in store at WWDC?
An interesting email from a reader…Hello Jason,…today I received an odd email from Apple support that got me thinking. I own an Apple TV and have really enjoyed the experience it brings, specifically given that I've long stop using cable or satellite TV.Recently I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a full season of Doctor Who (love that show) and proceeded to download all available episodes (6 at the time). That was 3 weeks ago and I hadn't received any new content from Apple, nor is there any new content on iTunes for this show.Concerned, I emailed Apple support to inquire what was happening, since, according the the Doctor Who website, there had been another 3 episodes made available online from their website.Apple support replied:Dear (redacted),Welcome to iTunes Store Support.I understand you did not receive the latest episodes of the playlist “Doctor Who, Season 5″.I know how eager you are to have this issue resolved. My name is Manoranjan and I will provide you the correct information regarding this issue.Thank you for your inquiry. I'm sorry, but I can't comment on rumors about decisions, products, programs, or promotions that Apple has not officially announced.By withholding comment, Apple hopes to protect customers from making decisions based on information that is incomplete, inaccurate, or subject to change before the formal announcement. Apple believes this is the best way to ensure that all customers are treated fairly.I appreciate your interest and encourage you to stay up to date on Apple news. Apple makes its company news available to the public through numerous channels, such as these:The Hot News webpage: http://www.apple.com/hotnewsThe Press Info webpage: http://www.apple.com/prEmail newsletters: http://www.apple.com/enews/subscribeApple and the Environment: http://www.apple.com/environmentThe Investor Relations webpage: http://www.apple.com/investorThank you for your understanding,Sincerely,(redacted)iTunes Store Customer SupportPlease Note: I work Mon-Fri, 11:00 AM-8:00 PM CSTCould it be, that Apple has not been updating iTunes because there is a planned refresh to the Apple TV? I've long been speculating, given some of the new changes to the iPhone OS, (scaling, etc..) that Apple easily dive into a completely new market (think game consoles) by replacing the Apple TV interface with the iPhone OS?? Imagine having hundreds of thousands of apps available through your TV, not to mention, web browsing, as well as the usual movies, music, and photos.Seems to me, WWDC would be the perfect venue to announce that developers can now scale their iPhone apps to display on a 1080p display. Add to that, the added sales from “input” devices such as iPads, Touches, iPhones… Could this be the breath of life Apple TV has needed to make is relevant again?Thoughts?My response was:I like your theory and want to believe!If anything, perhaps the announcement of Google TV has lit a fire under Apple to do something with its “hobby?”Photo: Post-Trasmission.com
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Apple: Moving Up the Market Cap Ladder
It's been a quite remarkable run by Apple (AAPL) - the most "teflon" stock in the market today. Considering that Apple might only be around due to a $150M investment by Microsoft (MSFT) in 1997... well, what can you say? On Wednesday, it passed Microsoft in terms of market capitalization to slide into the #2 spot amongst US-based companies. (It passed Walmart (WMT) not 3 months ago) All that is left is to surpass Exxon Mobil (XOM) and the crown goes to Steve Jobs. One wonders where it ultimately tops out. The growth is still there; the stock has doubled in the past 52 weeks. A doubling in value from current levels takes it over $450B market cap range.Since September 16, 1997, when Jobs returned as CEO and Apple shares traded at $5.49 per share, the stock has surged 4,346% and now trades at $244.11 per share. Over the last five years, Apple's stock has grown about 600% while Microsoft's managed a modest 5% growth. (Click to enlarge)Exxon Mobil: $287BApple: $229BMicrosoft $227BWalmart $190BMarket capitalization is calculated by multiplying the share price times the number of outstanding shares. It is often used as a public metric of a company's overall net worth.
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News: Apple launches iPad in nine countries
Apple today officially launched the iPad in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. iPadevice has posted photos from the device's launch in Italy, while SetteB.IT has posted a video from the Italian launch as well as photos from the Apple Store in Osaka, Japan. MacPlus has posted video from the Apple Store Louvre in Paris, France, and iFun.de has posted a picture from the device's German launch.…
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Enterprise Desktop Alliance conducts survey of laptop.desktop market
Posted by Dennis SellersThe Enterprise Desktop Alliance—an organization to help IT departments integrate Macs into the corporate environment—has opened a new survey to query IT administrators about whether they have non-Windows systems in their organizations, and if so, how many.
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TUAW's Daily App: 2360: Battle for Cydonia
Filed under: SDK We've been doing apps and puzzle games a lot on this feature lately, so let's not forget what makes a game really fun: a big robot blowing up lots of stuff. Fortunately, Battle for Cydonia is full of that, as you control a mech armed with dual machine guns through a series of missions on the future planet of Cydonia. It's a pretty simple affair, but the multitouch controls really make it shine -- you draw a path for your mech to take, and then just tap on enemies as they appear to shoot them down. You can upgrade the mech and its weapons over time, but the core gameplay here is just opening up a can of hot lead on anything that crosses your path. And plus, it's a free download right now -- if you like the game, you can pick up a "Signal from Titan" mission pack with new weapons, levels, and enemies to face off with for just 99 cents. Battle for Cydonia is an excellent little sci-fi shooter that's definitely worth the price.TUAWTUAW's Daily App: 2360: Battle for Cydonia originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink|Email this|Comments Unofficial Apple Weblog - Game - Video Games - Daily App - Science fiction
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TechUniversity Freebie: Creating Chiptunes with GarageBand
Take yourself back to a simpler time when video games had fewer colors and their soundtracks were made up of bleeps and bloops! We'll show you how to create an 8-bit video game sound (called a “chiptune”) out of any midi track using GarageBand and the Magical 8bit Plug. This TechUniversity screencast is completely free! Just head on over to TechUniversity to check out the full video. Here's a short sample for you as well…
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New Pavilion Hotel offers guests complimentary iPad usage
Posted by Dennis SellersCatalina Island's brand new Pavilion Hotel (which opened May 14) is offering guests complimentary use of iPads to access the Internet and their morning newspaper during their stay.
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Free Software Foundation mad at Apple (again)
Posted by Dennis SellersThe Free Software Foundation is up in arms over Apple's iTunes Store Terms of Service, suggesting that these terms fundamentally conflict with the terms of the GNU Public License, according to an Ars Technica report.
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TUAW First Look and giveaway: A flood of NewerTech iPad accessories
Filed under: iPad Judging from the number of questions I'm asked about cases for iPads, it appears that the second decision after "What iPad should I buy?" is often "What iPad case should I consider?" Thanks to Newer Technology, TUAW received a sampling of their new line of iPad cases, and we have a few to give away to TUAW readers. We'll start with the low end of the line and work up to the pice de rsistance. Now, there are some folks who want to feel the smooth metal and glass of their iPad and just need some protection on the screen surface. For those folks, NewerTech has come up with the NuVue Clear Screen Protector for iPad. It's US$9.99 and has a one year warranty. While it's not going to protect the back of your iPad from scratches or dings, it keeps the screen in pristine condition. You can use any of the other cases I'll describe to protect the rest of the device. There's also a version that can keep your data from prying eyes, which is important if you work in the healthcare business. It's called the NuVue Privacy Protector and costs $39.99. Many people are going to want to protect the iPad case, and that's the idea of the NuGuard line. First, there's the NuGuard Silicone protective casing, which is flexible and easy to put on or remove. It has a nice, non-slip surface, and it even includes a couple of indentations on the back to ensure a tight grip when your iPad is in your hands. The NuGuard Silicone casing sells for $17.99 and comes in green, blue, red, orange, black, or semi-transparent "arctic frost."TUAWTUAW First Look and giveaway: A flood of NewerTech iPad accessories originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read|Permalink|Email this|Comments Unofficial Apple Weblog - IPad - Newer Technology - Apple - IPhone
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Greg's bite: Water over the top of the dam
Posted by Dennis SellersBy Greg Mills The press is churning out story after story about Apple finally beating Microsoft out of being the top tech company spot, as far as market cap goes. Unfortunately for Microsoft, this is only the first of the major indignities that are looming ahead.
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Before the Bell: Apple, Daimler, Shell and miners in focus
A roundup of business and financial news breaking before the opening bell on Wall Street.
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Boutique publishing house les éditions volumiques shows us that print is far, far from dead
Say what you will about traditional media and the continually shrinking size of print magazines, but we've got some proof right here that good 'ol pulp still has a lot of life left. French publishing house les ditions volumiques has been doing research into new and... interesting ways to use the print medium and to combine it with mobile devices. The company's site is like a playground for bookistas, with short videos showing off all sorts of wondrous things. One project is The book that disappears, a volume printed on reactive paper that turns black after 20 minutes. Another is The Night of the Living Dead Pixels, a graphic novel (shown above) that allows you to choose your path, with terminal pages featuring QR codes that trigger videos on your smartphone. There's a board game that uses iPhones for pawns, and even a book that turns its own pages. All are demonstrated at the company's site (in Flash, so watch out for Steve), and most are destined to actually see print by the end of the year. We've already made room on our bookshelves. Boutique publishing house les éditions volumiques shows us that print is far, far from dead originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 08:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Les éditions volumiques |Email this|Comments
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International Customers Finally Get to Buy an iPad
(Image courtesy of MacRumors)iPad customers in the United States, gloat no more: The iPad has finally arrived across the pond, and around the world.MacRumors is reporting that Apple’s new iPad has finally arrived on foreign shores -- at least nine of them anyway -- with long lines in most locations. According to a report from Reuters, Apple’s flagship store in Tokyo’s Ginza had a line of more than 1,200 people, all waiting to be the first to get their hands on the iPad."I wanted to touch it as soon as possible. I felt real excitement when it was finally in my hands," exclaimed Takechiyo Yamanaka, 19, who camped out in front of the Ginza store from Wednesday evening to be the first in line.The story is really told in photos, with long lines of iPad-hungry customers at Apple Stores in the United Kingdom (seen above, at the Regent Street location), Paris, Sydney and Italy, and even a video of the retail mayhem in Japan.As you’ll recall, the international rollout of the iPad was delayed 30 days due to higher than expected demand in the United States. It would seem based on these early photos that Apple will continue its winning streak with the iPad overseas, at least with the nine countries where it’s now available and plenty more yet to come.
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iPad Mania Begins as iPad Launches Internationally
Apple's iPad is now available internationally, a full 53 days after its original U.S. debut. This Friday morning early adopters around the world queued up in a bid to get their hands on the long-awaited tablet device. Many of Apple's retail stores decided to open an hour earlier than usual. The doors opened as planned, ready to serve the scores of awaiting anticipated Apple shoppers that had formed queues from the very early hours of the morning. Shoppers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK can now get their hands on the device. In the UK a basic 16GB Wi-Fi model can be picked up for £429.99, the same model is priced at $549 for Canadian customers, whereas German consumers can grab a new iPad from €499. More international pricing details for the iPad can be found on your country's Apple store website. For those not in the countries outlined above, Apple has detailed that more countries will receive the 9.7-inch device at some unknown point in July. Today's more widespread global availability comes after Apple had to delay the international launch due to the overwhelming debut the tablet enjoyed in the U.S.. Reports regarding the tablet's global launch have started to roll-in, detailing the reception Apple's device has garnered. Several hundred people were queuing outside Apple's flagship UK store according to UK tech publication The Register. Similar scenes were reported at Spain's Munich store, where 9to5Mac described the launch event as manic. Apple fans in Japan apparently started queuing days in advance according to a TUAW report. Following today's global launch Steve Jobs will no doubt detail how the international launch fared at the upcoming WWDC next month with some early sales figures. Related GigaOM Pro Research: Hot Topic: Apple's iPad
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Money for Mac OS X rings up version 3.6
Posted by Dennis SellersJumsoft has announced Money 3.6, an update to their personal and small-business accounting application for Mac OS X. The upgrade adds a Reconciling feature, which allows keeping Money accounts in balance with users' bank accounts.
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Where the iPad Video Out Fails, the IPEVO Point 2 View Comes to the Rescue
If you’re frustrated because the iPad’s video out isn’t a universal feature in all apps, there’s another way to share your presentations.TUAW has posted a creative way to solve the problem of video out on the iPad. Using Apple’s iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter or one of the video out cables (composite or component) is pretty great -- except when you realize that only apps written to provide video out work with them. But there’s another inexpensive option for sharing your videos, particularly handy for educators or business presentations that use the iPad (or for that matter, the iPhone or iPod touch as well).The workaround comes in the form of a $69 USB camera from IPEVO called Point 2 View (or P2V for short). TUAW notes that the camera “has remarkably good resolution, and comes with a stand that is perfect for doing demos.”Set up the Point 2 View by loading the software onto your computer and plugging the USB cable into an available port on your system. The P2V application will launch and begin displaying video from the slender camera, which has a resolution of two megapixels -- better than Apple’s now-defunct iSight, which downsamples the 1.3 megapixel, 1280 x 1024 resolution to 640 x 480 for most applications. The P2V software lets you tap into resolution settings between 320 x 240 and 1600 x 1200.As you can see from the embedded YouTube video below, one of the great features of the P2V is the adjustable stand that comes in the box, which uses a heavy base with a rubber pad to keep it in place. Coupled with the camera’s autofocus, you can aim the P2V at your presentation on the iPad and blast it onto a bigger screen by way of your computer, where you can project it via full screen.TUAW also notes that the Point 2 View makes an ideal solution for sharing your iPad screen with live streaming solutions such as Ustream Producer, or for showing the display simultaneously with live video, side by side.The Point 2 View is available direct from IPEVO’s website, and seems to makes quite a handy device even for non-iPad users.
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iSobre presents new line of sleeves for the iPad, iPhone
Posted by Dennis SellersiSobre has introduced a new line of sleeves for the iPad and iPhone. The sleeves are 100% leather with a soft deerskin layer outside and a cushiony suede inside.
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Spiderweb Software announces Avadon: The Black Fortress
Posted by Dennis SellersSpiderweb Software has announced the upcoming release of Avadon: The Black Fortress, an all-new, indie fantasy role-playing game for Mac and Windows systems. It's due in early 2011. Pricing hasn't been announced.
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iPhone Dev Sessions: Responsive Web-Enabled iPhone Apps
Back in August 2009, Shufflegazine featured an article talking about what makes a good iPhone app. The article has a good discussion about what apps are popular and why, and ultimately concludes that a good app has to be simple, intuitive, responsive, and give users a compelling reason to use it. Unfortunately, there’s no recipe for how to write a simple, intuitive and compelling app. Our best bet for getting our hands on that recipe is probably this guy, but until he makes that announcement, handling these points is left as an exercise for the reader. Writing a responsive app, however, is much easier. A good working definition for a “responsive” app is one that responds to user input quickly and doesn’t hang without telling the user what’s going on. The rule of thumb here is that GUIs should respond to input in no more than 1 second, so the bar is set pretty high, especially for web-enabled apps. This article describes the most common reason GUIs get unresponsive and what to do about it. How Do These Newfangled GUIs Work, Again? Cocoa Touch’s GUI (like most GUIs) is built on an “event + event loop” architecture. User interactions like taps and keypresses are translated to events, and these events are then processed one-by-one in the imaginatively named event loop: Simplified Event Flow in a Cocoa App As long as each event gets processed quickly, the GUI stays nice and zippy. But because events are processed serially, one event can back up the whole gravy train. If one event takes five second to process, then the GUI will be completely unresponsive for those five seconds until the event loop can start processing new events again. But what if you have some GUI resources that take five seconds to load? We can’t load them all at app initialization time because we don’t always know what resources we’ll need when the app is starting up, especially for things like profile pictures. Also, the iPhone is an embedded platform, so memory for preloading is in short supply, anyway. How, then, can we appease the event loop tiki gods? The answer, young grasshopper, is to load such resources asynchronously, and then update the GUI when they’re done loading. Responsiveness Test Bench To illustrate these ideas, I’ve made a simple iPhone app that loads an image resource for display in an iPhone app GUI three different ways. The Responsiveness Tester. The people responsible for the appearance of this iPhone app have been sacked. Each method loads and displays the same image, but does the loading differently to demonstrate the effect each approach has on GUI responsiveness. The source code for this app is attached to this article if you’d like to play along at home. When the user chooses a loading technique by tapping its table row, a corresponding method is called to illustrate that loading technique. These methods are called directly from the UITableViewDelegate tableView:didSelectRowAtIndexPath: method, which runs in the event loop, so all this code runs directly in the GUI thread. First, let’s have a look at the code from the load-from-file example: - (void)showSynchFileDemoWithTitle:(NSString *)title { UIImage *image; image = [UIImage imageNamed:@"apple-logo.png"]; EagerViewController *view=[[EagerViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"EagerViewController" bundle:nil title:title image:image]; [self.navigationController pushViewController:view animated:YES]; [view release]; } The code looks like it sounds, right? We load the image from disk, use it to create a new UIViewController, push that UIViewController onto our UINavigationController, and then release the UIViewController back into the wild. This is exactly why synchronous loading is so popular: it’s ridiculously simple. And since we’re just loading a small image from a file, the GUI is still zippy, so synchronous loading is actually fine here. Now let’s look at loading that same image from a synchronous web request instead of a file: - (void)showSynchWebDemoWithTitle:(NSString *)title { UIImage *image; NSURLRequest *request=[NSURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:IMAGEURL]]; NSURLResponse *response=nil; NSError *error=nil; NSData *content=[NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:request returningResponse:&response error:&error]; if(content == nil) image = [UIImage imageNamed:@"big-red-x.png"]; else image = [UIImage imageWithData:content]; EagerViewController *view=[[EagerViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"EagerViewController" bundle:nil title:title image:image]; [self.navigationController pushViewController:view animated:YES]; [view release]; } The code is slightly more complicated, but still not too bad. We set up a web request for the image, wait for it to download, build an image with the contents of that request if it succeeded or load a default image if it failed, and then build our UIViewController from that image. Still nice and easy, but how does it perform? The problem with synchronous web loading. Hang much? Turns out, not so well. After the user taps “Synchronous from Web,” the app just kind of sits there for a few seconds before it shows the next view. Why? The synchronous web request loading the image in the event loop takes a while to complete, which blocks the event loop and hangs the GUI. This kind of code is surprisingly common despite the hangs it causes. Unless you’re willing to tick off your customers, which is usually considered harmful, synchronous web loading in the event loop is right out. So what’s the asynchronous web loading equivalent look like? Behold, ye mortals, and despair… From RootViewController.m: - (void)showAsynchWebDemoWithTitle:(NSString *)title { LazyViewController *view=[[LazyViewController alloc] initWithNibNamed:@"LazyViewController" bundle:nil title:title imageURL:[NSURL URLWithString:IMAGEURL]]; [self.navigationController pushViewController:view animated:YES]; [view release]; } From LazyViewController.m: - (id)initWithNibNamed:(NSString *)nibNameOrNil bundle:(NSBundle *)nibBundleOrNil title:(NSString *)title imageURL:(NSURL *)imageURL { if(self = [super initWithNibName:nibNameOrNil bundle:nibBundleOrNil]) { self.navigationItem.title = title; if(imageURL != nil) { self.getlogo = [AtomicAsynchronousWebRequest requestWithURL:imageURL andDelegate:self]; } } return self; } - (void)updateLogoWithImage:(UIImage *)image { [self.logo stopLoadingWithActiveView:[[[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:image] autorelease]]; } - (void) atomicAsynchronousWebRequest:(AtomicAsynchronousWebRequest *)request didFailWithError:(NSError *)error { if(request == self.getlogo) { [self updateLogoWithImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"big-red-x.png"]]; self.getlogo = nil; } else { // We have no idea which request this is. Just log it and move on. NSLog(@"Failed unrecognized HTTP request: %@", request); } } - (void)atomicAsynchronousWebRequest:(AtomicAsynchronousWebRequest *)request didSucceedWithResponse:(NSURLResponse *)response andContent:(NSData *)content { if(request == self.getlogo) { [self updateLogoWithImage:[UIImage imageWithData:content]]; self.getlogo = nil; } else { // We have no idea which request this is. Just log it and move on. NSLog(@"Succeeded unrecognized HTTP request: %@", request); } } Oh… that’s all? Well, I guess that’s not so bad. We pass the URL for our image to the UIViewController initializer, and the UIViewController then starts an asynchronous web request for the image and updates the logo view with an image when the web request either succeeds or fails. (Observant readers will notice some custom methods above. Hang tight, we’ll talk about those in a minute.) What does all this trouble buy us? Nice and Zippy. Asynchronous Loading FTW! A wonderfully responsive app, that’s what. The transition from the first view to the second view is instantaneous; the second view shows its spinner until the web request completes or fails, and then the logo is updated with a new image. Why is this UI so snappy? Because all long-running operations are performed outside the message loop, so nothing hangs the GUI thread. Lazy loading for slow resources is clearly the way to go. And if you think about it, this approach is good not only because it runs faster, but also because it’s more modular. The UIViewController being created knows what it’s displaying; it should probably be loading its resources too, especially if that loading is complex, in case that UIViewController needs to be reused elsewhere in the app. So… sweet. A twofer. Being Lazy About Being Lazy If asynchronous loading is what we need to be doing — and it is – then how can we make it easy? It turns out that asynchronous loading is easier in Objective-C than it is in many other languages. In Java, for example, asynchronous loading requires you to mess with callbacks and Threads, SwingWorkers, or ExecutorServices, which feels like jumping through a bunch of flaming hoops while wearing a newspaper tutu. In Objective-C, though, web requests are baked into the API and already have asynchronous callback functionality, which means that asynchronous loading can be had essentially for free, especially if we do a little customization of our own. The app uses two custom classes. I’ll discuss them here just in case the classes themselves or what they do is useful to other developers. Both classes are in the attached source if you want to put your eyes on them, or use them for your own nefarious purpose. AtomicAsynchronousWebRequest The iPhone SDK’s generalized web request API is NSURLConnection, and you can find a good primer on how to use it here. The NSURLConnection exposes way more features than most apps need, though, like hooks for reacting to redirects and chunked input, which makes it more difficult to use than it needs to be. AtomicAsynchronousWebRequest is a thin wrapper around NSURLConnection that lets developers perform the most common web tasks (namely atomic GETs and POSTs) asynchronously by implementing a dead-simple 2-method protocol. DelayedLoadView While the iPhone has a nice “spinner” GUI element (UIActivityIndicatorView) that’s handy for telling the user something is loading, it has no explicit API for populating GUI views lazily. DelayedLoadView is essentially a “container” view that shows a spinner until it’s updated with its “real” content view, which makes handling activity indicators and lazy content really easy, especially for GUIs built-in Interface Builder. Gotchas A couple gotchas have been glossed over in the interest of keeping things at least a little brief. Now that we’re past the good stuff, I’ll mention a few of them here, just in case you want to get creative on your own: All GUI updates must happen on the GUI thread. Cocoa Touch GUI elements, like GUI elements in most toolkits, are not thread-safe. So, if you need to interact with a GUI element, you need to do it from the main thread. If you’re not making your own threads, you probably don’t need to worry about this. If you are, you may need to make use of NSObject’s performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone: or similar. Remember that UIViewController IBOutlets are not initialized after super’s initializer completes. Instead, the UIViewController must be set to appear before IBOutlets are properly connected. This means that failure conditions can’t really be handled inside a UIViewController initializer, so any custom load code you write needs to take that into account. If you want an example of how to work around this issue, check how AtomicAsynchronousWebRequest calls its failure method from its initializer roundabouts using a performSelector call. UIActivityIndicatorViews are kind of confusing. You probably want to set hidesWhenStopped to YES. That way, startAnimating and stopAnimating will do what you expect them to. If you don’t see a spinner and you expect to, make sure your UIActivityIndicatorView isn’t hidden. If you see a spinner but it’s not spinning, you need to call startAnimating. Not all long-running operations have asynchronous callbacks baked in. Web requests do, which is very handy, but if you need to do some other kind of loading you’ll have to get creative. If you’re only going to load things now and then, using performSelectorInBackground:withObject: is probably just fine. If you’re going to be doing a lot of loading, though, you won’t want to create a new background thread each time you load something, so you’ll probably want to create a custom NSRunLoop and kick off your loading with performSelector:onThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:. You can synch up the GUI when loading’s done with a simple performSelectorOnMainThread:withObject:waitUntilDone:. Conclusion You’re now an expert on how to build responsive network-enabled GUIs! Or at least you know more than you did. It’s worth mentioning that even though the article focused on loading images, the very same principles can be applied to executing web service calls, loading web pages, or any other task that requires time to complete. I now expect all apps to have responsive GUIs, even if they’re loading resources from the web. You’ve been warned. I’ve got my eye on you, iPhone developers. Stay QWERTY, my friends.
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Macsimum Migration Kit: interior design software for Mac OS X
Posted by Dennis SellersThis Macsimum Migration Kit looks at interior design software for Mac OS X. Products covered include StyleDraper, Vectorworks Designer and SketchUp.
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An iPhone for Verizon and Sprint: Dream On
One of the early predictions of a Verizon iPhone goes back to 2007, when ZDNet's Russell Shaw predicted the iPhone would be on Verizon within a year. Since then, there have been countless other stories offering predictions or circulating rumors that inside sources had disclosed a Verizon iPhone would "definitely" be coming in the next week/month/year. All obviously have been proven to be false. When Steve Jobs delivers his WWDC keynote on June 7, one of the big questions people hope he will answer is what carriers in the U.S. will be getting the next-generation iPhone.
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Why Is Apple Tethering Itself to AT&T?
Thanks to advances in computer-generated technology, the images simply jump out at you from the TV screen, as all good commercials should: massive sheets of orange fabric covering up the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles and unfolding down the sides of buildings on the Las Vegas Strip, dropping from the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, being unfurled by shiny happy people all along an East Coast beach. The late British singer-songwriter Nick Drake's "From the Morning" lulls you into accepting all this as just another day in the U.S.
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Opera parodies Google's Chrome speed tests mercilessly (video)
This, dear friends, is the height of comedy. Opera's pair of Scandinavian browser testers are back, this time applying some extremely high-tech speed tests to determine whether the Norwegian browser is faster than boiling a potato. Seriously, if you're not laughing at this, you either work for Google or you have a funny bone missing. In more concrete news, the acceptance of Opera Mini to the iPhone has added a cool 70 percent to the Mini's user base, judging by downloads of the browser worldwide. But that's not what you're here for, you're here to see the epic video, which awaits after the break along with Google's original. [Thanks, Ian G.]Continue reading Opera parodies Google's Chrome speed tests mercilessly (video)Opera parodies Google's Chrome speed tests mercilessly (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 07:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | operasoftware (YouTube), Yahoo! News |Email this|Comments
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AT&T: four out of 10 iPhone sales are to the enterprise
Posted by Dennis Sellers AT&T's Ron Spears, CEO of the telecom company's Business Solutions unit, says four out of 10 iPhone sales are to enterprises, reports ZDNet. The exec made the comment t the Barclays Capital Communications, Media and Technology conference on Thursday.
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UK iBookstore surprise: premium content appears
The iPad has officially hit Europe today (though some lucky duckies got theirs a bit early), and contrary to earlier descriptions of the iBookstore as being "US only" it seems UK virtual bookshelves are now receiving some decidedly in-copyright texts to fill in the gaps between the dusty, out-of-copyright volumes previously available. Prices are displayed in the local currency, nice for those living in fear of the NWO, and purchases are made in just two taps. So, UK owners, download yourself a new book, find a comfy chair, pour a nice cuppa, and enjoy your weekend with your new toy.UK iBookstore surprise: premium content appears originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 07:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | SlashGear |Email this|Comments
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Projector for Mac OS X updated; iPad version available
Posted by Dennis Sellersapp4Mac has updated Projector, a Mac OS X app designed to keep track of tasks and calculate a project's cost, to version 2.1. The new version is compatible with the iPad version, which is available for US$14.99 at the Apple App Store.
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Cramer's Mad Money - Apple Is the Greatest Manufacturing Stock in the World (5/27/10)
Stocks discussed on the in-depth session of Jim Cramer's Mad Money TV Program, Thursday May 27. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT)
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'Tech Night Owl' looks at DOJ vs Apple, gifts for dads/grads, more
Posted by Dennis SellersOn this week's “Tech Night Owl,” Gene Steinberg, the Owl himself, and guests look at the DOJ vs. Apple brouhaha, “dads and grads” gear and the upcoming Apple. Worldwide Developer Conference.
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Global stagnation to continue in home video entertainment
Posted by Dennis SellersHmmm. Could Steve Jobs be right about the future of movies, as well as music, being digital and online? Maybe. According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, the global home video market is poised to see further declines in the years ahead.
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Nokia sells just 100,000 N900s after first five months: so?
Look, the N900 might be sitting at the top of Nokia's handset pyramid in terms of capabilities, but as we've said all along, the N900 is not a mass-market device. Nokia's been very clear that the N900 was launched as a means to strengthen its Maemo development community (on the path to MeeGo we now know). And by all accounts, it's done just that while winning a rabid fanbase of nerds in the process. Nevertheless, Reuters uses Gartner's estimate of less than 100,000 units sold in the device's first five months as proof that Nokia can't mount a challenge to RIM and Apple. True the numbers are paltry compared to the 8.75 million iPhones Apple sold from January to March. But a more apt comparison might be the oft noted Nexus One sales that reached just 135k units moved after 74 days. Regardless, in its defense, Alberto Torres, head of Nokia's solutions business said that "Sales have substantially exceeded expectations." So yeah, Nokia has problems, but the N900 isn't wasn't one of them.Nokia sells just 100,000 N900s after first five months: so? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Reuters |Email this|Comments
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Five Tech ETFs for the Intensifying Apple-Microsoft Battle
Microsoft (MSFT) has been the face of technology since the computer became personal. But today, Apple (AAPL) overthrew Microsoft's throne as the most valuable technology company in the entire world. Good thing is, you don't have to choose sides: you can own both in one ETF.On Wednesday, Apple's market value shot past Microsoft's for the first time ever, reports Miguel Helft and Ashlee Vance of The New York Times. As of Wednesday, Apple was valued at $222.12 billion compared to Microsoft at $219.18 billion.
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Foxconn raising wages by about 20 percent as previously planned
After a string of highly localized suicides at Foxconn's manufacturing campus captured the world's attention -- again -- the company has decided to increase worker wages by about 20 percent. Foxconn says that the pay raise had been planned for some time but did not say when it would be implemented. Mind you, a 20% bump in the third quarter is not unusual as Foxconn ramps up production for the holidays. In fact, Foxconn has given raises by as much as 50% in the past according to Vincent Chen, analyst at Yuanta Securities in Taipei. At the moment, Foxconn entry-level line workers are paid 900 yuan (about $131.80) per month -- remuneration that exceeds the local minimum wage in the area. And that's before bonuses and that oh-so tempting overtime pay are factored in. It's also worth noting that Foxconn is said by a factory worker surnamed Wang, to pay 100,000 yuan (about 10 times a worker's annual base salary) to families of suicide victims -- a sum he says has tempted some to their death.Foxconn raising wages by about 20 percent as previously planned originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 03:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.PermalinkGizmodo | MSNBC |Email this|Comments
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Apple launches iPad in Japan; Softbank shares rise
Apple's iPad goes on sale in Japan, resulting in long lines of Apple devotees and boosting shares of Softbank, which markets the device.
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James Stewart on Options: Not Exactly 'Common Sense'
James Stewart's Common Sense investing column in the WSJ is like a slow motion, low decibel version of Cramer's Mad Money. He throws out a group of buys and sells and never presents a scorecard of how his proposed trades do, except to mention some winners. But even with the "winners" he never specifies dates and prices for his proposed portfolio changes.
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Mac OS Ken: 05.28.2010
Munster Says WWDC Keynote Likely a Non-Event for Investors / Boy Genius Report Hears Another iPhone in June Rumor/Report / Early Thursday Rumor That Ballmer to Speak at WWDC Jobsnote / Late Thursday Message From Microsoft That Ballmer Not Speaking at WWDC / JP Morgan Analysts See Big International Growth for Apple in Mid-Range PCs / Apple Calls Itself Saddened and Upset by String of Apparent Foxconn Suicides / HP and Dell to Support Apple Investigation of Foxconn Working Conditions / On Heels of PR Push Comes Another Suicide at Foxconn / Apple Opening Three New Retail Locations This Weekend / Three Becomes Fourth UK Carrier to Offer Data Plans for 3G iPad / SAI Looks at the Differences Between iPhones and iPads in Apps / Barnes and Noble Launches eReader App for iPad / Amazon CEO Not Interested in Making Kindle More Like iPad / NPD Data Puts Apple Further Ahead as Number One Music Seller in US / Apple Seeds New Build of Snow Leopard Update to Developers / Apple Sued Over Use of iAd Term / NYT Says Apple Overtakes Microsoft = Consumers Overtake Business