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Better printing with Gutenprint
Filed under: Software, Open Source
Gutenprint (formerly called Gimp-Print) is an open-source package of improved printer drivers and utilities that can be installed on Mac OS X to enhance printing functionality and add additional support for older printers. It has driver support for over 1300 printer models, and adds a GIMP plugin for better print customization and color adjustments.

Since I do a lot of Mac system imaging and deployment, I don't like to install a bunch of separate print drivers on a seed image. I initially just used Leopard's built-in generic Postscript or PCL driver, but I had many issues with printing speed (the speed of spooling and job submission, not the speed of the physical printing process) and print quality. So I installed the Gutenprint package, switched all printers to the Generic Gutenprint PCL driver, and the printing issues subsided.

To use Gutenprint, simply download the .dmg (5.2.3 is the latest version) and install the package. All of the necessary PPD's and drivers will be copied to your computer, and you will be able to select Gutenprint drivers when adding printers. If you have an Epson Stylus Inkjet printer, you will then also be able to use "escputil" from Terminal to do printer maintenance like head aligning and cleaning.
Continue reading Better printing with Gutenprint
TUAW Better printing with Gutenprint originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Talkcast reminder: 10 pm ET Sunday night
Filed under: TUAW Business, Podcasts
Last week, Dave, Christina & Mel joined me for a deep dive on the iPhone app-cracking controversy, with special commentary from guest & veteran developer Kai Cherry. We had a couple of recording hiccups, but you can still download the show from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

This week, while we keep one eye on the NBA All-Star game, we'll step into the news of the week and take your calls. Since the two big tech announcements of the past 7 days came from non-Apple sources, we welcome back special guest Ross Rubin of the NPD Group to explain the imponderables of the Kindle 2 and Microsoft's decision to jump into retail.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can also use the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!
Continue reading Talkcast reminder: 10 pm ET Sunday night
TUAW Talkcast reminder: 10 pm ET Sunday night originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google Docs adds spreadsheet editing on the iPhone
Filed under: Internet Tools, iPhone, iPod touch
A while back we noted that Google had optimized the Google Docs services for viewing on the iPhone (and other mobile devices). It's taken a while, but now it's been announced that some basic editing is possible from the iPhone as well.

The interface is a little clunky: you basically have to hit an edit link to adjust any given row of a spreadsheet and scroll to the right to change values for the columns, each within a separate form field. There's no easy way, for instance, to scroll down a column changing the values for each row. Nonetheless, it is now possible to make changes to a spreadsheet, as well as alter the sorting and filtering options.

Even though the implementation is imperfect, I'm happy to see mobile editing in Google Docs spreadsheets and I've already begun to make use of it. We can only hope they'll figure out how to make it a bit more streamlined in the future.

[Via jkOnTheRun & Download Squad]
Continue reading Google Docs adds spreadsheet editing on the iPhone
TUAW Google Docs adds spreadsheet editing on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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My first iPhone application
Filed under: Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK, iPod touch
Last month I wrote about some resources for learning Objective-C that I was using to learn how to write iPhone applications. Judging by the number of comments on that article, I thought that I should write a follow-up post about my progress and the status of my first iPhone application.

Since I had a few programming classes in college (VB, C++), the logic of loops and decision statements was not a big hurdle. By using the learning resources like screencasts and books, I was able to get a better grasp of object-oriented programming (OOP) in general, and of course the syntax specific to Obj-C. I became familiar enough with Xcode just by using it for demo programs, and I used the wealth of iPhone developer resources from Apple to use the iPhone SDK. After paying $99 to Apple to enter into the iPhone Developer program, I was then able to access the forums; they were helpful in figuring out specific things (like how to preset a UIPickerView object).
Continue reading My first iPhone application
TUAW My first iPhone application originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Magic for your iPhone
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
The tricks just keep on comin' for the iPhone. Magicard [App Store link] is a good head scratcher that is always ready to perform. Have your assistant cut the cards a few times and select a card. (The method to do this is provided with a built-in tutorial video.) You keep the selected card face down, and place it on top of the iPhone screen. When the card is removed, a mirror image of the card is on the screen. The card can be any number or suit.

The app normally starts up with a screen that includes a clickable link to a video tutorial that shows how the trick works. It wouldn't be good for people to see that, so in your iPhone settings menu you can tell the Magicard not to display any of that information when you are about to perform.

Magicard also lets you select a plain black background for the trick, or you can use something from your photo roll. You can even snap a picture with the iPhone camera and use that. Unfortunately, this menu comes up every time you try the trick, and it is an annoyance. You should be able to set the background from the settings menu and forget it until you want to change it.

The trick does not require a lot of skill, but you will need to do one common thing magicians know how to do. If you don't know how, the video tutorial will walk you through the simple steps. I don't think David Blaine will lose any sleep over you performing this trick around town, but it is worth the US $0.99 asking price to see some surprised faces on your friends when you pull this little effect out.

Note: This trick is iPhone only. It will not work on the iPod touch. You can see some videos of the trick in action at the developer web site, along with some variations on the basic trick.
Continue reading Magic for your iPhone
TUAW Magic for your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Proposing with an iPhone app
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, iPhone
Need to propose to someone? There's an app for that. Brian X. Chen at Wired reports that coder Bryan Haggerty proposed to his girlfriend Jeannie Choe this week with an iPhone app of his own making -- he sent her on a video scavenger hunt that marked points on a map drawing out the "<3" symbol (which has a lot of sentimental meaning to the couple -- he also gave her a necklace with the same thing on it), and then led her to a hilltop park, where he popped the question.

Unfortunately, Wired doesn't tell us if she said yes, but it's Valentine's Day, so we'll assume she did. The app must have been distributed ad-hoc, too, because we don't see it on the App Store at all (not too surprising, considering that as cool as it is, it's got some limited functionality). But congrats to Haggerty and Choe -- if they run into any issues at the ceremony, there's probably an app for that too.
Continue reading Proposing with an iPhone app
TUAW Proposing with an iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone and iPod touch shares continue to grow
Filed under: Apple Financial, iPhone, iPod touch
It's not an earthshaking surprise, but good news nevertheless, that advertising metrics show the share of Apple devices on the web continues to grow.

The latest indication is from Admob, a firm that tracks ad requests from more than 6,000 published sites in 160 foreign countries.

According to their latest report:

Worldwide requests from Apple devices grew 28% month over month to 1.2 billion in January. Building on its strong December, iPod Touch growth outpaced iPhone growth in top markets. The iPod Touch now represents 40% of Apple requests, up from 20% in September.

The Admob data confirms that the Apple iPhone (17 percent share) and iPod touch (12 percent share) are together the number one device for mobile internet useage, making 51% of all ad requests. This has to be good news for Apple, who is riding the recession along with the rest of the tech sector. Other highlights from the report indicate that Blackberrys have a 19 percent share while the G1 (HTC Touch) is the number 18 device in the U.S. with 0.9% share in December. The Google Android phone has a 3% OS share in the US, a good number for a product so new to the scene.

Apple may be rolling out even more phones to try and hold and extend past market gains. There are also continued rumors of a US $99.00 iPhone.
TUAW iPhone and iPod touch shares continue to grow originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple says jailbreaking is illegal
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Software, Hacks, Odds and ends, Open Source, Apple, Jailbreak/pwnage
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has posted the news that Apple has filed comments with the US Copyright Office stating that the act of jailbreaking your iPhone is a copyright infringement and a DMCA violation, and therefore illegal. The EFF says that Apple is claiming that jailbreak apps still require modified versions of Apple's software, and Apple apparently believes that those versions are infringing on their copyrights.

The EFF responds, in turn, that "reverse engineering is a fair use when done for purposes of fostering interoperability with independently created software," saying that yes, even though jailbreakers are using Apple's copyrighted code, they are doing so in a way that allows them functionality that Apple doesn't provide access to on their own.

At this point, of course, this is just a complaint in the copyright office, and Apple hasn't made any legal moves yet against anyone responsible for jailbreaking. As the EFF states, it would be extremely hard for them to go after individual jailbreakers -- if you buy an iPhone, it should be your right to "get under the hood," as they say, and do what you want.

But (and keep in mind that this is TUAW, not The Unofficial Legal Weblog, and we are not lawyers) it seems Apple may be able to try and make a case against anyone offering software that does modify or otherwise "misuse" their copyrighted code. We'll have to see if they explore that position more in the future. You can read Apple's full response here (27 pages). You can see the EFF's initial filings here.

Stay tuned for more news and analysis on the issue.
TUAW Apple says jailbreaking is illegal originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft investigating retail options, hires former Walmart exec
Filed under: Retail
Microsoft is giving retail stores another try, even after closing its only store at the Metreon in 2001. It plans a "small number" of stores, but did not mention locations or size.

The company is hiring Walmart veteran David Porter -- an expert at negotiating deals between the movie industry and the big-box retailer's expansive DVD sales division. Porter most recently worked at Dreamworks Animation, managing worldwide product distribution for their games and movies.

The stores apparently will be geared for sales and education about Microsoft's product line. Porter said, "I am excited about helping consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases, and we'll share learnings [sic] from our stores with our existing retail and OEM partners that are critical to our success."

If Microsoft is aiming to compete with Apple on a retail level, they seem to be omitting a key part of Apple's retail success: Service. The Genius Bar is arguably the most crowded area in Apple retail stores, with every store booking appointments well in advance. A Microsoft service bar for both PCs and Zunes could be a very popular destination. If Microsoft stores can offer a competent service experience for the vast diversity of PC hardware, they might have something.

Microsoft has a 20,000 square-foot "Retail Experience Center" in Redmond, on the company's corporate campus. The Center is designed to show how Microsoft products can be used in every corner of a business' operations: from the loading dock to the reception desk. It's unclear if it will serve as the model for Microsoft's new retail initiative.

[Via ifoAppleStore.]
TUAW Microsoft investigating retail options, hires former Walmart exec originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google Chrome for Mac: Don't hold your breath
Filed under: Software, Internet, Internet Tools
Gather around, Apple fans. I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that there is a preliminary version of Google Chrome up and running. Sort of. Google's Mike Pinkerton has posted a couple of screenshots of Chrome for Mac on his blog, including the very first time he used it to load a webpage. It's coming, folks.

Now the bad news from Mike himself, "We've got a very very long way to go." He says that the WebKit that ships with Mac OS X doesn't do what they developers need right out of the box, and it took a lot of cajoling to get it to comply. If it's anything like the acrobatics I must perform each weekday morning to get my kids out the door in time to catch the school bus, Google's Mac devs will be busy indeed.
TUAW Google Chrome for Mac: Don't hold your breath originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mobile Me debuts large file sharing with iDisk
Filed under: MobileMe

Apple yesterday announced a new addition to Mobile Me: The ability to share large files with others via iDisk. One of our readers had noticed an announcement about it way back on New Year's Day.

The service works much like YouSendIt, though rather than uploading a file, you point to an existing file on your iDisk. MobileMe then assigns a URL to that file, and offers to send an email to a recipient with the link. You can also assign an expiration date and password to the link.

MobileMe's sharing functionality is so far only available only through the iDisk web application, and not through the Finder. Tools like Dropbox and FileChute -- available on the desktop -- allow you to upload files and assign them a public link, but don't feature expiration dates or passwords (yet).

Apple offers a tutorial on how to use the new feature on its website.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
TUAW Mobile Me debuts large file sharing with iDisk originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Letting the iPhone read to you
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
With apologies to Steve Jobs, who pretty much implied reading was dead, there are more and more applications coming to the iPhone/iPod touch to allow people to do just that -- read books.

Today, Traveling Classics has released several public domain titles that you download as applications. A voice reads the book to you while the text stays in sync.

The books are narrated by volunteer readers from the Librivox Project, who record the complete text and release their narration into the public domain. It is a bit like open source for books.

Among the titles are: (click on them for their App Store links)

* Treasure Island
* Art of War
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
* The Tell-Tale Heart
* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
* The Gospel of John
* Pride and Prejudice

All the books are US $0.99 until February 20th, then they are all $1.99.The Gospel of John is free. I tried two of the books, The Art of War, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Both presentations sounded professional. The text did scroll along with the spoken words. You could exit the book, and when re-starting you are given the option to resume where you left off. That worked well. Audio quality was quite good on headphones, and clear enough through the iPhone speaker, but I don't think that is the preferred way to listen.

These books compare with other Audio Books available from the App Store, and are certainly cheaper than the same titles from Audibile.com, the iTunes Store or Amazon. On the other hand, those titles from other sources can be played back through a car audio system with an iPod adapter, or burned to a CD, where with the self contained books from Traveling Classics, you'd have to use the headphone jack to get access to the sound. Also, you can get current books from Audibile.com, but the Traveling Classics are just that -- Classics in the public domain.

There are other versions of almost all these books. There is, for example, a free version of The Art of War on the iTunes store, but it is text only, no narrator.

The Traveling Classics are a nice variation of the standard audio book that people started buying on cassettes years ago, then on CD, and now by downloading them from the Internet. This latest option will appeal to some, but many readers will stick with something they can download and use with other media players.

For those of us who like books, despite what Steve Jobs thinks about the market for them, having more to read, and more ways to read, can only be a good thing.
TUAW Letting the iPhone read to you originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Just how bad is AT&T?
Filed under: Bad Apple, iPhone
The well-known tech blogger Om Malik has broken up with his iPhone. It seems that despite loving the iPhone itself, AT&T's shoddy service in San Francisco just wasn't cutting it. A couple of dropped calls during a phone interview was apparently the straw that broke the camel's back and Om traded his iPhone for a iPod touch plus a couple of phones from other carriers.

That got me wondering. Just how much of a drag on the iPhone is the AT&T network? My service has generally been reliable here in the Twin Cities, but I have suffered problems when traveling. So how about it? How many of you have actually had to dump an iPhone because of the carrier?

[via jkOnTheRun]
TUAW Just how bad is AT&T? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Smule raises $3.9 million in funding
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, iTunes, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
There's money in them thar App Store! Smule, the company behind the popular Ocarina and Zephyr apps for the iPhone, has informed us that they raised a whopping $3.9 million from a round of venture funding led by a firm named Granite Ventures. That's a lot of capital -- while a lot of people are aiming to get their hands in the cookie jar in a big way in the burgeoning economy of the App Store, $3.9 million is the biggest single payout we've seen yet (the iFund actually paid out $100 million, but that was split among various companies and people, and we haven't heard specifics on exactly what they got).

The company brags that they've attracted over one million users already, and that they will use the funding to "help people experience music as it's never been experienced before and in turn find new ways of bringing people together." We can't help but wish them well -- hopefully we'll see more high quality apps in the App Store, and hopefully that'll pay off for both investors and consumers.
TUAW Smule raises $3.9 million in funding originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Rumor: New body for the 16GB iPhone
Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, iPhone
There's a new rumor floating around which claims that the case of an upcoming 16GB 3G iPhone has been photographed. The shot, now posted at iPhone Observer with similar images at MacRumors, depicts a matte black iPhone with the model number "A1303." It's also been suggested that the case in question is metallic, not plastic like on current 3G models.

In the end, what do we have here? A photo of 1/3 of a single side of an iPhone (why not post the whole photo?), a unique model number (I'm pretty sure my 5-year-old could come up with one of those) and the word of a rumor-crazy Mac community.

Is this the case of a future iPhone? Could be. But we're not betting the farm on it.

[Via MacDailyNews]
TUAW Rumor: New body for the 16GB iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Rumor: Major Apple Store makeover coming
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail, Rumors
ifoAppleStore is reporting today that Apple intends to re-design the layout of its many Apple Stores. If you'll remember way back to 2001 when the first Apple Store opened, they had wooden floors and closely resembled the interior of The Gap (minus the khakis and overwhelming sense of homogeneity).

The new design will move the store's emphasis from hardware to marketing with a large educational section just beyond the entrance. This area, dubbed "Why You'll Love a Mac," will highlight the differences between a Mac and a Windows PC, as well as the benefits of software like the iLife and iWork suite.

There's no solid information on when the transformation will take place, but MacNN says it could start as early as next week (also unknown is whether the changes will be limited to the US). Keep your eyes peeled, shoppers. Your local Apple Store may close down for a short while.
TUAW Rumor: Major Apple Store makeover coming originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple releases security, Java updates
Filed under: Software Update, Security

Start your engines -- er, Apple menus -- it's Software Update time! Apple has just issued two security updates today. The first is aimed at Java for OS X 10.5.6 and the Java Web Start and Java Applet components. The second update is for both Mac OS X 10.4.11 and Mac OS X 10.5.6 is a broader security update that addresses the Safari RSS vulnerability we discussed last month, as well as a number of other components (including perl, AFP Server and Remote Apple Events).

You'll need to restart your system after installing the security update -- but we recommend you do so, this stuff looks important!

Thanks Vivek!

Postscript: Brian Mastenbrook, who discovered the Safari RSS vulnerability has posted a blog entry detailing how he discovered the problem, why he issued a warning and how long it ultimately took Apple to respond (6 months!). It's good reading and a good discourse on how our favorite company handles security threats and how they might want to improve.

TUAW Apple releases security, Java updates originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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AIM for Mac releases version 1.1
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Productivity, Odds and ends, Freeware, Internet, Internet Tools
Does anyone still actually use AIM to sign in to their AIM account? I've found the AIM Express client useful occasionally when I happen to be on a strange computer (though nowadays I mostly use the AIM iPhone client when I'm AWOL), but on the desktop it's been Adium for longer than I can remember.

Still, if you'd rather do the official way, AIM for Mac 1.1 is out now. There are a few bugfixes -- ICQ accounts had an issue signing in, apparently, and there were a few font and display issues fixed. And there aren't too many new features, though you can now leave notes in "Edit Buddy" fields and the Buddy List search got improved. Unfortunately, it looks like, according to the screenshot they posted, the Buddy List will also blur out all the names on your Buddy List, which seems really inconvenient.

The app itself is still in beta, though you can't really go wrong with instant messaging -- either your messages get through or they don't, right? You can download it now, or if you're already using the 1.0 client, you'll get notified automatically.

Disclaimer: TUAW is owned by Weblogs, Inc, a division of AOL. We were kidding about that blur thing, AOL -- we know it's just for the screenshot.
TUAW AIM for Mac releases version 1.1 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Evernote meets Curio, you save some money
Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity
Right around Macworld-time, Zengobi released Curio 5.4, which included a healthy dose of Evernote integration. I had fallen for Evernote before I really figured out Curio, but lately I've found both to be key elements in my organization arsenal. I especially like Evernote's mobile capabilities and cross-platform sync. At home, I organize nearly all of my projects and related materials in Curio. Now, with Curio 5.4 and Evernote's very thorough API, we get the best of both worlds. All of the notes I take on my iPhone by photographing, recording and typing show up automatically -- and with full search capabilities -- when I sit down at my Mac. I also do a lot of research on the web, and this new integration means I can clip web pages to one place -- Evernote -- and have the information immediately available in Curio.
Evernote's various software clients are free, and premium accounts (allowing for any filetype and much more storage) are available for $5/month or $45/year. Curio is more pricey; the standard version is $99, and the pro version is $149 (there are significant academic discounts available). If you're already a Curio user but not an Evernote user, I'd recommend you sign up for a free Evernote account and start enjoying the benefits of the integration. You can always upgrade to a premium account if you find it indispensable (a fairly common occurrence). If you're an Evernote user considering Curio, use the coupon code EVERNOTE at Zengobi's online store (or Academic Store) to get a 20% discount on a Curio purchase. If you use neither, and don't want to, shouldn't you have given up reading this about a paragraph ago? Nah, thanks for sticking around.
TUAW Evernote meets Curio, you save some money originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Axiotron Modbook upgrade: not quite 2 minutes, but overnight ain't bad
Filed under: Mods, MacBook

If you have $1,149 to spend, TechRestore can convert your MacBook into an Axiotron ModBook overnight during the work-week. They've put together a little stop-motion video, even, to show you how it's done.

The $1,149 price is good through March 6. Overnight delivery options are an extra $29 to $99, depending on whether you ship it yourself to them, drop it off at a shipping center, or have it picked up.

[Via Gizmodo.]
TUAW Axiotron Modbook upgrade: not quite 2 minutes, but overnight ain't bad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Ask TUAW: Syncing iCal, Mouse Keys, encrypted flash drives and more
Filed under: Features, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW
This time in Ask TUAW we're tackling questions about syncing iCal between two Macs, using an encrypted flash drive in a cross-platform environment, changing default applications, using the keyboard instead of the mouse, and more.

As always, your suggestions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!
Continue reading Ask TUAW: Syncing iCal, Mouse Keys, encrypted flash drives and more
TUAW Ask TUAW: Syncing iCal, Mouse Keys, encrypted flash drives and more originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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They grow up so fast!
Filed under: Humor, Flickr Find

Solely for your lunchtime amusement, we bring you this classic, heartwarming picture of a young family celebrating their new addition around the holidays.

Mac is now 25, and had his first TV appearance last year after a short career as a young actor appearing on TV's Seinfeld. Tom and Beth just finished remodeling their kitchen.

[Via BuzzFeed and EatLiver.com.]
TUAW They grow up so fast! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Miro 2.0 revamps interface and improves performance
Filed under: Video, Freeware, Open Source
Miro, the open-source video client and podcatcher, has hit version 2.0. In addition to a revamped interface and various performance improvements in viewing and downloading, the new version also adds support for streaming shows on Hulu, CBS, etc. as well as audio podcasts.

As before Miro features a comprehensive content guide, YouTube downloading, and a built-in bittorrent client. Although you can cobble together most of Miro's functionality with other software, perhaps its biggest advantage is bringing together a bunch of disparate video sources from around the internet (many of them in HD) and putting them in a single, convenient interface.

Miro is a free download from the Participatory Culture Foundation.
TUAW Miro 2.0 revamps interface and improves performance originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Skybound flies high
Filed under: Gaming, Reviews, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
I don't always get enthusiastic about games, but Skybound [App Store link] actually sucked me in and kept me playing for quite a long time.

The object of the game is to keep an animated ball bouncing ever higher by swiping your finger across the screen to create a layer of clouds. It seems simple, and certainly, learning the game is exceedingly simple. On the other had, doing well takes some skill, and you are swept into the progressive scoring to get your ball higher and higher into the stratosphere.

The game has three levels, Easy, Normal and Boss mode. Boss Mode is more a fighting game than the others. The animation is smooth, the sounds are appropriate, and the game play is very addicting. There are surprises and power-ups, enough things happening to keep it all interesting. For a game that sells for $US 1.99 I'd say my cost per minute of this app is very low.

The game was released in December and works on the iPhone and iPod touch, and a recent update fixed some bugs, and has improved the graphics. It's also become a bit more challenging. The developers are from Norway, and have a good web site with information and support.

Reviews from users have been quite positive, and I really don't have too much to suggest for improvements except for perhaps the ability to pause and save a game in progress. Once you get bouncing, you hate to quit, but sometimes you must.

If you want to test the game, the developers offer Skybound Lite [App Store link] which is free. I expect many people will be happy enough to get the full version after a few addictive minutes of play. It really provided me some welcome relief as I was stuck at an airport waiting for a flight.

Gallery: Skybound screen shots

TUAW Skybound flies high originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Ripdev launches anti-piracy service for iPhone developers
Filed under: Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK, iPod touch, Jailbreak/pwnage
Last week, the iPhone cracking app-cracking tool, Crackulous, was released, igniting discussions amongst developers and users over App Store security, piracy and how to combat these threats within the confines of Apple's walled-garden. Because of the iPhone SDK, and Apple's Terms of Service for letting apps into the App Store, individual developers are severely limited in what they can actually do, code-wise, to address the issue.

This doesn't mean developers are completely helpless; indeed, as the comments pointed out, there is stuff that can be done to thwart IPA cracking and even the use of Crackulous itself. But what if you are just struggling to find time to code your current iPhone projects and don't have the time or necessary skill-level to address iPhone piracy?

Enter Ripdev's new Kali Anti-Piracy service. I talked to Slava from Ripdev last week, and they really seem to be onto something. Essentially, Ripdev has figured out how to put an extra wrapper around iPhone apps, which not only prevents the app from launching or functioning properly if it has been cracked, but also prevents the current cracking tools from working on the app at all. Even better, this process only uses documented and allowed calls, making it SDK compliant. Oh -- and if the app is legitimately purchased, it can run on a jailbroken iPhone without a problem.
Continue reading Ripdev launches anti-piracy service for iPhone developers
TUAW Ripdev launches anti-piracy service for iPhone developers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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How to make an iPhone game
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Developer, iPhone, iPod touch
The folks at Gogogic asked Twitter if they wanted to see how the company's iPhone games were made, and since the answer was in the affirmative, we all get the benefit of looking into just how one iPhone developer put their game together.

It starts with a wiki; the company keeps a collaborative site of all the ideas they have for upcoming games, and if the decision is made to go ahead with an idea, that wiki page branches out into the planning documents behind the eventual app. Concepts are drafted in sketches, conversations, and outlines, and eventually they feel like they have the idea "fully developed," at which point the game goes into a proposal pool, and then is eventually picked for production.

That begins with an animatic, as you can see above -- before they ever write the first code line, they map out what will happen in certain game situations. It looks like they used Flash to put that together pretty easily, but you can see how well it shows off game design elements and how things should work during gameplay. After that, there's nothing to it but to do it -- the game is coded, art and sound elements are put together, and of course the usual run of playtesting and so on takes place (the company is going to show off how to test and publish games in a future post).

The game above turned out to be called Symbol6 (Hexago was a working title), and is in the App Store right now. Thanks to Gogogic for sharing a look behind their process -- there are tons of developers working on apps at the moment, and it's neat to see how someone else does it.
TUAW How to make an iPhone game originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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3D Realm: Prey coming to the iPhone
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Hardware, Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

This is pretty exciting -- 3D Realms has announced that their 2006 first-person shooter, Prey, is coming to the iPhone. IGN has a preview up now, and it looks pretty impressive -- the texture work is very well done, and the gravity-defying puzzles that helped the original game stand out as an above-average shooter are back as well.

As you can see above, the controls are overlaid on the touchscreen, and while IGN says they take a little getting used to (they're obviously not the usual WASD and mouse movement that most shooter fans are used to), they do work well once you figure them out (and you can change the transparency of the controls, so they won't get in your way while you're blasting aliens). 3D Realms says there's no release date yet (the port is being done by a company called MachineWorks Northwest), but it'll definitely be something to watch out for.

Thanks, Nick!
TUAW 3D Realm: Prey coming to the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Spiffy animated charts with Keynote
Filed under: Multimedia, iWork
Ivan at the great Creative Bits has posted a nice tutorial on creating animated charts in Keynote. It's a simple process really, making use of the build feature of the Inspector. You've got to love Keynote. Even a person who dislikes slide shows (like me) can enjoy putting one together.

If you're after more powerful chart and graph options in Keynote, check out Chart Gallery. For even more Keynote fun, you can't miss Keynote User or our own first look at Keynote '09.
TUAW Spiffy animated charts with Keynote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Rumor: Snow Leopard to include QuickTime Pro
Filed under: Multimedia, OS, Software
At long last, Apple will (allegedly) stop charging customers for the "Pro" features of QuickTime by building them into Snow Leopard. Finally.

You'll recall that Apple has been gradually increasing the options available to the free version of QuickTime, like full screen playback mode. Other features of the Pro version -- like simple editing and export options -- were unlocked with in a recent developer's build of Snow Leopard.

Of course, this may be a way to let developers test all aspects of QuickTime, but we're hoping that's not the case. With the popularity of Apple's video editing software like iMovie and Final Cut, it seems that simple cut-and-paste should be free with QuickTime. Launching one of those apps just to complete a simple edit is overkill. Kind of like swatting a fly with a Buick.

We've got our fingers crossed.
TUAW Rumor: Snow Leopard to include QuickTime Pro originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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ID that font on the go with WhatTheFont for iPhone
Filed under: iPhone, Graphic Design
If you're a graphic designer, hopefully you're familiar with WhatTheFont, the essential service from myfonts.com that helps identify a font from a photo or other bitmap image. Now, MyFonts is bringing that power to the iPhone.

With WhatTheFont for iPhone, you can take a picture using the iPhone's camera, and use the WhatTheFont to identify the font in the image. No more guessing -- or even waiting until you get back to the computer. WhatTheFont is even useful to iPod touch users -- the software identifies fonts in images saved from Safari, screenshots, or other images in your photo library.

WhatTheFont requires internet access to work, since it connects with myfonts.com to perform the image analysis. It's free, and available in the App Store.

[Via Swissmiss.]

Gallery: WhatTheFont
TUAW ID that font on the go with WhatTheFont for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Retail experience draws women to AAPL?
Filed under: Retail, Apple Financial
Piqqem, a service that crowdsources stock picks, has some interesting demographic data about who says they're buying AAPL. Among female users, Apple is the most highly rated stock to buy.

The lowest-rated stock is Dillards -- which leads to an interesting analysis by Alex Salkever, director of research and marketing at Piqqem. He says that focused specialty retailers are better at weathering the economic downturn so far than large department stores.

"And while Apple has seen sales growth in its chain stores level off, I submit that a big reason why Apple has held strong is due to the attraction its products, stores, and services hold to women beyond the teenage years," he writes.

Personally, I think linking womens' stock choice specifically to the retail experience falls somewhere between a little chauvinist and a little short-sighted. AAPL is also the most popular stock among all of Piqqem's users, for example. It certainly can't hurt Apple's business, though, to appeal to women, teens, and other key demographics with disposable income right now.

Many analysts point to Apple's strong cash position as reason enough to buy AAPL. Indeed, Apple's stock price has recovered some since Macworld, and is trading around $98 a share. It's certainly shy of their 52-week high of $192 a share, but it's well off their 52-week low of $78.20.
TUAW Retail experience draws women to AAPL? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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MobileMe Control Panel for Windows updated
Filed under: Internet Tools, Software Update, MobileMe
We assume that there are a few of you who have got Windows machines with MobileMe access in place. If so, you'll be pleased to know that version 1.3 of the Control Panel is now ready. As you know, this control panel allows Windows users to synchronize MobileMe services and iDisk.

According to Apple, version 1.3 "...delivers faster syncing of contacts and calendars between MobileMe and Microsoft Outlook ... [and] a new tray icon also indicates whenever an automatic sync is in progress." Additionally, any change in Outlook will automatically trigger synchronization.

This is a 2.27 MB download and requires Windows Vista SP1 or later ( or Windows XP Home or Professional SP2) and Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 for calendar sync.

[Via MacNN]
TUAW MobileMe Control Panel for Windows updated originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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First Look: Touch Poet lets anyone be a poet
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, First Look
With Valentines Day right around the corner, it would seem that everyone is looking for something to get their loved ones. While most might settle on candy, or other holiday items, would you ever think of writing your special someone a poem? Even if you've never written a sentence in your life, you can easily write a poem with Touch Poet [iTunes link] for iPhone.

Touch Poet grabs word snippets from works by Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, and Rudyard Kipling as well as Digg headlines and other news sources. When you tap on the right-pointing arrow in the app, words will be move out from behind the arrow. When you find a word that you want to use, you can drag it up to the top portion. The snippets of paper has a really great physics engine that makes it look as though you are actually touching it. If you don't like a word, or would like to choose a better word, then you can "throw" the piece of paper in the garbage shoot by tossing it towards the bottom right of the screen. If you can't seem to find a word that you like, you can input your own words by double-tapping on the bottom of the screen -- this will allow you to input your own word.

If you tap the upward facing arrow you will have several options, namely the ability to select the source of your words. From here you can also Twitter your masterpiece or e-mail it straight to your loved one. You can get your hands on Touch Poet by visiting the iTunes App Store. It is currently on sale for $.99 (US) through Valentines Day; after then, it will go up to $2.99.

Gallery: Touch Poet
TUAW First Look: Touch Poet lets anyone be a poet originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nothing can go wrong.... Hal 9000 is on the iPhone
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
You knew it had to happen. The charming but murderous computer from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey has made to the iPhone/iPod touch. Hal 9000 [App Store link] awaits you for US $0.99.

It's basically a still of HAL, with lots of his famous sayings from both 2001 and the 1984 sequel, 2010. The real voice of HAL was Canadian actor Douglas Rain.

Don't know how MGM, owner of the two films, or actor Rain will feel about their work being appropriated for this app, but sound clips of HAL have been floating around on computers for a long, time. Images of HAL have also been used as desktops and wallpaper on computers and phones.

The author of the program, Jonathan Mulcahy is a Boston Systems Engineer. Not surprisingly, he used to fool around with robotics.

[via VentureBeat]
TUAW Nothing can go wrong.... Hal 9000 is on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW First Look: Postbox Public Beta
Filed under: Software, Beta Beat
Postbox, the email client built for heavy email users, entered Public Beta on Sunday. Postbox is designed to allow you to search, organize, and manage your email more more efficiently.

Postbox includes a powerful search tool that lets you use Gmail-style search terms (like "from:Steve" or "before August 2008") to easily find messages. The Gmail-like features don't end there: Postbox automatically organizes threaded emails by subject. Messages can be tagged with one or more topics for easy recall later.

Perhaps Postbox's greatest feature is its ability to recognize what's in your email, and keep it front-and-center. For instance, if you're composing a new message, you can use the Compose sidebar to find attachments in other messages to drag into your new message. The inspector panel on the preview window highlights links, addresses and attachments in the message so you can get to them easily.

For me, I use my inbox like a to-do list. Thankfully, Postbox has a built-in Archive utility that lets you specify an archive folder for each account (which I already had set up). Once you're done with a message, clicking Archive or pressing A moves that message (or many messages) right into your archive.

Add to this to-dos, integrated search, social network integration, message annotation, tabbed browsing, and a high-security Mozilla foundation, and you've got an amazing Swiss Army-knife tool for hard-core emailers.
Continue reading TUAW First Look: Postbox Public Beta
TUAW TUAW First Look: Postbox Public Beta originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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App Store reaches 20,000 apps
Filed under: Software, iTunes, Apple, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Our friends over at Apptism, a site that tracks and rates App Store apps, have pointed out that their counter recently flipped over the big two-zero... zero zero zero. That's right, only three months after hitting the 10,000 mark (and that took only six months), the amount of apps in the store has doubled, and there's no sign the acceleration will be stopping any time soon.

The ease of development in the iPhone SDK, combined with the huge success of the device and Apple's own promotion revolving around how many apps are in the store, mean that the platform is taking off like a rocket. Sure, numbers aren't necessarily the best indicator of quality (anyone want to speculate how many of the 20,000 apps have to do with farting or belching?), but the fact is that people are both developing and consuming apps from the App Store in gigantic numbers. How long before we reach 50,000 different applications on the iPhone? A million?
TUAW App Store reaches 20,000 apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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31 fart apps in 90 seconds
Filed under: Humor, Video, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Looks like the years I spent in Spencer's finally paid off, as I was given the dubious honor of sniffing out a few dozen of the 60+ fart apps on the store. But I promise, no squeaking out a lame joke just because this is a video about farts. No silently doling out the goods while looking the other way, either -- I'll just squeeze my mind cheeks together and hold it all in. I even avoided using the "1812 Overture" as theme music. For maximum effect I highly recommend blasting this video loudly at work.

I'll own up to it: I had a hard time not laughing while taping this. Many thanks to the developers who provided promo codes and laxative audio (seriously, don't drink coffee while watching this). Not every app I tried made it to the video, but they are all included in the link list (next page).

Something you'll notice is that many fart apps are simple -- sometimes almost too primitive. Also: they are mostly just soundboard apps, with some by the same developer as derivative works designed to promote their work on the App Store. Why Apple had to make this into a circus I'll never understand (keeping them out of the store temporarily only drew more attention to them). But, like any mall with various departments, the market will eventually sort this mess out. Read on for the full list or check out the gallery of featured fart apps. You have been warned.

Gallery: Lots of fart apps
Continue reading 31 fart apps in 90 seconds
TUAW 31 fart apps in 90 seconds originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Force help to be more helpful
Filed under: iLife, Tips and tricks
Being the Kool-aid sipping, Apple fanatic that you are, I'm sure you have already updated to the latest versions of iLife and iWork, right? If you have then it's not unlikely for you to be experiencing the same kind of problem that Rob Griffiths over at Macworld is dealing with as well.

Following his recent upgrade to the latest (and greatest!) version of iPhoto, Rob noticed some inconsistencies in the way Help was providing him information. Specifically, he had trouble with locating documentation on the new Faces feature when navigating through iPhoto's Help menu and launching the Help application. Rob was able to locate the documents he sought by using Leopard's Spotlight-esque Help-searching feature and querying for "Faces."

During our review of iPhoto '09 we did not come across any issues with the Help documentation. But we here at the TUAW headquarters at the Winter office in Hawaii are too stubborn to read directions. Rob's problem seems to be an old one that has occasionally plagued users through many versions of OS X. He points to another article at Macworld by Chris Breen which covers some tactics for wrangling Help back into line.

The culprit in this whodunit case turns out to be Help's cache file (in the library with the candlestick). According to Rob, "Help relies heavily on cache files to present its information to the user." For reasons unknown, upgrading an application does not necessarily cause the cache files to rebuild. In order to force the system to accomplish this, first quit iPhoto then navigate to the current user's home directory -> Library -> Caches (~/Library/Caches) and locate "com.apple.helpui." Once the cache file is located, drag it into the trash and restart iPhoto. Boom! You now have a working-as-intended iPhoto Help viewer.

While any application's help cache can become obsolete, Rob notes an increase in likelihood for Apple's own applications. Whether you're experiencing problems with an Apple app or not, deleting the cache file is very likely the solution. Have you had any issues with an application's help viewer? If so, which app was it and how did you resolve it? Let us know in the comments!
TUAW Force help to be more helpful originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Revisiting the randomized signature AppleScript, now with API goodness
Filed under: Terminal Tips, AppleScript
When I shared an AppleScript last week which created randomized signatures using TextExpander, I promised to revisit it when the iheartquotes.com API started working again. It's working right now, but it seems to go up and down; check this link before you try the script and make sure you get a quote, not an error message.

As before, when used with a TextExpander snippet set to the AppleScript type, this script will provide a random quote, this time pulling it from the Internet rather than our own list. The script is essentially the same, so I'm only going to explain the part which changed; visit the previous article for a rundown on the rest:
```
set _date to do shell script ¬
 "date +'Sent on %A, %b %d at %l:%M %p'|tr -s ' '"

 set _quote to ""

 try

 set _quote to do shell script "curl -s \\
 'http://www.iheartquotes.com/api/v1/random?source=macintosh&max_lines=4'"

 set {astid, AppleScript's text item delimiters} ¬
 to {AppleScript's text item delimiters, return}
 set _quote to paragraphs 1 through -3 of _quote as string
 set AppleScript's text item delimiters to astid

 end try

 set _out to "
 -Brett

 " & _date & "
 ________________________________
 Brett Terpstra | myemailaddress@mywebsite.com
 The Unofficial Apple Weblog | http://www.tuaw.com

 " & _quote

 return _out
```
The curl call

Here's the part which makes this more interesting than it was before:
```
set _quote to do shell script "curl -s \\
 'http://www.iheartquotes.com/api/v1/random?source=macintosh&max_lines=4'"
```
First off, that really should be all one line, but is split here for formatting purposes. You can remove the double backslash (\\) and merge the lines together if you like. What this does is use AppleScript's ability to run shell scripts (Unix commands) to make a curl call to retrieve a response from the iheartquotes API. Note the "try" statement surrounding that section; it will just return our regular signature without the quote if anything goes wrong. If it gets a response, it stores it in a variable (_quote) and then trims off the last line, like this:
```
set {astid, AppleScript's text item delimiters} ¬
 to {AppleScript's text item delimiters, return}
 set _quote to paragraphs 1 through -3 of _quote as string
 set AppleScript's text item delimiters to astid
```
The first two lines (actually one line) are shorthand for setting "AppleScript's text item delimiters" -- the character that AppleScript uses to separate text items in a block of text -- to the return character and store the current text item delimiter in a variable so we can restore it with the last line. Using the paragraphs command, which automatically uses the return key to separate paragraphs, we turn the quote into a list of paragraphs, starting with the first and ending with the third from last. This is because the last two "paragraphs" are always an empty line and a permalink (even if you use the API's parameters to turn off the permalink). The last part of that line, "as string", is where the text item delimiters come into play, putting the list items back together with a return after each one, reconstructing the original formatting.

Note: You could do the same thing by adding |sed -n '$!p' to the end of the do shell script line, right before the last double quote. I suppose you might as well, as long as you're dipping out to the shell anyway ...

From there it's the same as before, just building a final output string from the pieces we've created. This method provides a much wider variety of randomized signatures than constructing your own list by making use of a small section of the wide array of data on the interwebs. The use of curl in an AppleScript can open a lot of possibilities, such as posting to Twitter in various ways. or shortening urls on the fly. Have fun.
TUAW Revisiting the randomized signature AppleScript, now with API goodness originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple wants to know more about your Apple TV use
Filed under: Apple TV

Apple is now asking users of the Apple TV product to take a survey "in an effort to improve [the] Apple TV." According to Mac Rumors, new Apple TV owners were told about this data collection. In an email sent to various users, Apple gives us the following details about the survey:

"Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to help us understand how you use your Apple TV. Your responses will remain completely confidential and results will be viewed only in aggregate. We value and appreciate your input."

The survey takes a few minutes to complete, and provides users the ability to give their full input in the form of a text box. You can take the survey by clicking here.

Update: Apparently Apple is experiencing a heavy server load and the survey site is being very unresponsive or not at all responsive at this time.

Thanks for the tip, Zack!
TUAW Apple wants to know more about your Apple TV use originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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