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The Google Voice rejection: What's needed now
Filed under: App Store
If you've been following coverage of Apple's rejection of Google Voice for iPhone, you saw TUAW blogger Chris Rawson considering whether pressure from AT&T might have been behind the Google Voice rejection -- an assumption first floated by TechCrunch and later substantiated by Daring Fireball. The absurd nature of the app removals is highlighted in the blog post from Riverturn, developers of VoiceCentral, which reports the conversation with an Apple representative.

Google Voice offers free call forwarding to your home, office, and cell, free Internet-accessible voice mail (with text transcription!), free SMS, and a single phone number for life. These free features compete against AT&T's revenue streams.

When it comes to "duplicate functionality", Apple doesn't seem to have any problem allowing applications like AT&T co-branded Virtual Recptionist (iTunes link) in App Store. Virtual Receptionist provides custom call forwarding to three phone numbers, in a similar manner to Google Voice.

In the wake of the rejection, sites like Wired, which should get credit for predicting this issue, have considered whether Apple's move might invite regulation due to the company's control over the App Store and possible anti-competitive concerns. A legislative response isn't out of the question should enough unhappy customers start petitioning their congressmen, especially in a political climate that encourages government intervention in private business. Granted, the iPhone isn't a monopoly among smartphones, but Apple does hold all the cards when it comes to app approval on the platform.

ChannelWeb's Rick Whiting (via the Wall Street Journal) points out that the US Department of Justice has "begun investigating whether large U.S. telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications were engaging in anti-competitive behavior, including locking up the most popular handsets. The exclusive deal between AT&T-Apple is said to be drawing the most scrutiny." Whiting believes that AT&T and Apple may be drawing attention from a DOJ intent on cracking down on exactly this kind of excess. AT&T's tight relationship with Apple might be affecting how Apple runs App Store, as might be the case with the Google Voice rejection.

Continue reading The Google Voice rejection: What's needed now
TUAW The Google Voice rejection: What's needed now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A peek inside the TUAW offices
Filed under: Odds and ends, TUAW Business
Each day the TUAW crew awakes from our hyperbaric chambers, slides down the firepole in our historic 2-story firehouse and gathers around the Surface table to discuss what we're going to write about. Oh wait, that's in an alternate universe I just made up. In reality, the TUAW team is a diverse group of freelancers based all over the world, working from their home offices to find Apple stories for you.

There's no office except our chat room, no break room except our Twitter feeds and no daily editorial bull session with the team. It doesn't work like that. Instead, we all wake up at different times, read different sources, write different stuff and share different opinions. Everyone has a "day job" of some nature outside of TUAW, be it cubicle farmer or freelance pixel pusher. I'm pretty thrilled we've been able to do this for over four years now and our independence and focus hasn't changed.

While you can't take a tour of our real-world offices, some of our bloggers are sharing pics of their workspaces. Everyone has a very different setup, as you can see. Want to share your own setup? Tag a picture on Flickr with "tuaw" and we'll check it out.

Gallery: TUAW blogger desks

TUAW A peek inside the TUAW offices originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Retro Apple: The QuickTake 100 digital camera
Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Peripherals, Odds and ends, Retro Mac, Apple History, This Old Apple
In 1994, I was working as the IT manager for a natural gas pipeline company (all Macs, of course), had long hair pulled back in a ponytail, and none of that hair was gray. In January of '94, I remember being invited down to Apple's Denver office -- they had a Denver office in those days -- to see some new products that were being introduced.

While I was disappointed that they didn't show us an updated Newton (the MessagePad 110 would be introduced in March), I was intrigued by another device that was demonstrated -- the Apple QuickTake 100 digital camera. At the time, the only other small business / consumer digital cameras on the market were the Canon Ion, a device from Kodak (rebranded by Apple as the QuickTake 100), and the Logitech PhotoMan.

After the demo, we passed around the camera and took photos of each other, and then waited as the pictures were uploaded to a Mac. Considering that "digital photography" for us at that time meant taking a picture with a film camera, waiting for the film to be developed and prints made, and then scanning the pictures on an expensive and slow SCSI scanner, this seemed like the future. Of course, I remember comments from many of the people in attendance to the effect of "digital photography will never replace film photography."
Continue reading Retro Apple: The QuickTake 100 digital camera
TUAW Retro Apple: The QuickTake 100 digital camera originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple wins fight in U.K. over iPhone v Android claims
Filed under: Apple, iPhone, App Store
The U.K. advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority, says Apple is correct when it claims its App Store is better than the Google store for the Android.

In a TV ad Apple claimed that the iPhone had apps for "just about anything". Fans of the Google Android, or at least ten of them, complained that their phone offered a similar and equal function.

Apple responded that it made the claim "only on the iPhone" because its App Store "provided users with a unique experience unmatched by any other application marketplace, including the Android Market".

"Because Apple had shown there were far more applications available for the iPhone than the G1 phone, and user experience of the iPhone and the App Store was distinct from its competitor, we concluded that the claim 'only on the iPhone' was justified and not misleading," said the ASA in its ruling.

The Apple App Store has about 50,000 applications, while Google offers about 2,100.

In the past, Apple hasn't done too well with the ASA. In November an iPhone ad was banned for misleading customers about the speed of the phone on the internet. Apple also had to pull ads for its first generation iPhone in August of 2008.
TUAW Apple wins fight in U.K. over iPhone v Android claims originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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X-Power1 Rechargeable iPhone/iPod charging cable: Everything you know is wrong
Filed under: Accessories, Cool tools, iPhone, iPod touch
Sometimes, when I see something new, I have to smack myself in the head and think: "Why didn't I think of that?" Remember the old V8 Juice commercials? I just heard about one of these and It's the X-Power1 USB Rechargeable Battery Backup Cable from Xmultiple.

It looks like a USB charging cable swallowed a AA battery. What's inside is a lithium-ion battery with more capacity than built into any current iPhone or iPod. Using this cable, sync or charge your device while the internal cable battery charges. It will take about 3 hours to fully charge. Then when your device runs out of juice, plug in the cable and get power while you charge your device's battery.

I spoke with Alan Pocrass, the CEO of Xmultiple, and found that the information now circulating around the Internet is wrong. If you've already read something about the product, that information was based on a production prototype that will not be be built. The publicity picture is also inaccurate. The cable will work with iPhones, iPod touches and USB-charging iPods only, so earlier iPod owners (those that charge via Firewire) are out of luck.

Keep reading for more specifications...
Continue reading X-Power1 Rechargeable iPhone/iPod charging cable: Everything you know is wrong
TUAW X-Power1 Rechargeable iPhone/iPod charging cable: Everything you know is wrong originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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First Look: iDisk app
Filed under: iPhone, MobileMe, First Look, App Review
Apple's long-awaited free iDisk (iTunes link) program brings some great new features that makes MobileMe more appealing. But, there are a few holes and the program certainly doesn't do everything.

Basic layout
When you launch the iDisk app, you'll see most of folders that you normally have access to in your iDisk, plus any other folders that you might have created. What you won't see are the Backup, Sites, Software and Web folders that are normally in your iDisk. You can access these folders by enabling them through the software settings. Pressing the edit button will allow you to delete any user-made folders you've added to iDisk, but you can't create new folders.

Along the bottom are buttons for the iDisk itself, recent files viewed, files that you've chosen to share and public folders you've subscribed to. The settings screen is pretty basic, but leads to one of the gems of this piece of software -- an extremely documented help section that goes over every aspect of the app.

Gallery: First Look: iDisk app
Continue reading First Look: iDisk app
TUAW First Look: iDisk app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW Poll: What would you do if an iPhone 4G rolled out on Verizon?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Wireless, Odds and ends, iPhone
Apparently yesterday's poll about the release date of Mac OS X 10.5.8's made some waves in the Apple swimming pool, since we've seen over 6,400 responses in about 15 hours. That poll also made TUAW reader Clinton hungry for a new poll. He wrote:

"Could you do a poll? There is so much speculation about Verizon and a 4G network and the possibility of iPhone going to that platform once it is up and running in 2010. I would like to see a poll to substantiate all the speculation that AT&T customer will leave for Verizon's network if iPhone is available on Verizon's new 4G."

Along with that explanation, Clinton also provided a question and several multiple choice answers. Since he had done most of the hard work, we couldn't help but run this poll. If none of the answers meet your needs, or if you have additional comments to make, please use the comments link below.

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TUAW TUAW Poll: What would you do if an iPhone 4G rolled out on Verizon? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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New Kodak pocket cam outputs 1080P and supports the Mac
Filed under: Hardware, Multimedia, Video
The world of pocket video cameras is heating up. Kodak announced today a September ship date for a new competitor to the much loved Flip line, and more broadly, the iPhone 3GS, with a rather astonishing 1080P output at 30 FPS. The camera, the Zi8, can also output 720P at 60 FPS, or 30 FPS 720P. WVGA is also supported, along with built in image stabilization.

The camera has a macro mode, and will shoot 5.3 MP stills. It also supports an external microphone for stereo recordings, and of course, still sports a mono mic built in.

Video is H.264 which is very Apple friendly. Kodak says the camera requires OS X 10.4 or higher, and wants to see a 2.8 GHZ processor or greater, 1 GB of RAM, and 300 MB of hard disk space. The processor speed spec is pretty high end, understandable for 1080P 60 FPS playback. The camera comes with AV cables, but also HDMI cables, which many people have been clamoring for with these video enabled pocket cameras.

This camera could be a worthy competitor to the Flip Ultra HD. The cost is expected to be about US$180.00. The iPhone 3GS camera is decidedly un-HD capable, and this Kodak camera, like the Flip line, will surely be of interest to Mac video mavens.
TUAW New Kodak pocket cam outputs 1080P and supports the Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iDisk iPhone app arrives, there is much rejoicing
Filed under: Apple, iPhone, MobileMe
You have waited with varying degrees of patience, but your wait is over: the MobileMe iDisk app, in all its officialness, is now available on the App Store.

The iDisk app allows you to view the contents of your MobileMe iDisk straight from your iPhone, and offers some nice options, such as adjusting the amount of local storage used on the phone for recently viewed files.

Does it live up to your expectations? Check it out, and be sure to tell us in the comments what you think about it!

[H/T AppAdvice.com]
TUAW iDisk iPhone app arrives, there is much rejoicing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple adds keywords to App Store additions
Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Earlier this week, Apple took a step towards making iPhone and iPod touch apps easier to find. Specifically, developers can now add comma-separated keywords to their apps, up to 255 characters.

Hopefully this will make it easier to find apps, because it's certainly not easy now. The categories are so vast and each one so densely packed (there are 65,000+ apps in the store as of this writing), that finding the one app that will do what I want is a chore.

Keywording is a small step, but as Tim Cook noted in last week's earnings conference call, there is plenty of room for "further improvement" in app listings and search/accessibility for finding the apps you want.

Since the store's purpose is to drive iPhone sales (from Apple's perspective), we're sure they're motivated to get it right.

Update: At least one developer is reporting an issue with the new service.

[via AppleInsider]
TUAW Apple adds keywords to App Store additions originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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2GB Eye-Fi Geo exclusive to Apple retail
Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Retail, Internet Tools
The Eye-Fi Memory Card sends photos wirelessly from your camera to the destination of your choice, like a computer or the web. Back in January of '08, the product gained Mac and iPhoto support, and support for MobileMe was added in September '08.

This week, Eye-Fi announced the Eye-Fi 2GB Geo, which is currently exclusive to Apple retail, both online and brick-and-mortar stores. As you've probably guessed, the Geo adds geotagging to the mix. Once snapped and tagged, photos will be sent to a folder on your Mac or directly to iPhoto, all tagged and ready to go. This makes great use of iPhoto '09's Places feature.

It's $60 for a 2GB card, which is cheaper that most of the geotagging add-on hardware we listed a couple months back. If you pick one of these up, let us know how it goes.

Additionally, there's a Eye-Fi app for the iPhone [App Store link] that lets you send photos to your Mac or certain online services direct from your phone.

[via MacDailyNews]
TUAW 2GB Eye-Fi Geo exclusive to Apple retail originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW Poll: When will Mac OS X 10.5.8 be released?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Software Update, Leopard
A friend of mine let me know that last night, Apple seeded Mac OS X 10.5.8 Build 9L30 to developers. Apparently, this version had only one item in the change list, that item related to an issue with waking from sleep mode when connected to external monitors.

With this one minor change, as well as the fact that the previous build was pushed to developers only five days earlier, it appears that the last version of Leopard is about to show up in Software Update. OS 10.6, Snow Leopard of course, is expected to ship towards the end of September.

TUAW wants to know when you think 10.5.8 will actually appear. Take our poll, and if none of the canned answers fit your thoughts, be sure to leave a comment.

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TUAW TUAW Poll: When will Mac OS X 10.5.8 be released? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Terminal Tips: Change the location of snapped screenshots
Filed under: Tips and tricks, Terminal Tips, TUAW Tips
Are you tired of all of those icons from screenshots you've taken cluttering up space on your desktop? If you would like them in a different place when you snap them, here's a command to change the location.

Using the Terminal, enter the following command to change the location:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Pictures
This snippet will change the default location of saving the screenshot to the Pictures folder. You can also set this location to any folder or volume on your Mac, just substitute ~/Pictures in this command to whatever you want. Once you've run this command, you'll need to restart the SystemUIServer (used to control certain interface elements in Mac OS X), by entering killall SystemUIServer in the Terminal.

If you don't want to use the Terminal, many of the popular Mac maintenance utilities, including OnyX (free). TinkerTool (free), and Cocktail ($14.95), will allow you to change the location of snapped screenshots.

If you're snapping a lot of screenshots, changing the location can be very useful, especially if you're on a portable Mac with limited disk space. Each screenshot can sometimes be over 1MB in size, so if you're tight on space it can be a good idea to store your screenshots elsewhere, like on an external hard drive.

There's also a handy suggestion from our own TJ Luoma: redirect your screenshots to a cached/synchronized folder, like the Pictures folder on your iDisk (if you have iDisk Sync turned on) or a folder in your Dropbox, Live Mesh or SugarSync directories for instant screenshot sharing among multiple machines.
TUAW Terminal Tips: Change the location of snapped screenshots originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone supplies dwindle in Canada
Filed under: Retail, iPhone
Our neighbors to the north are grumbling about the lack of 3GS iPhones. The major suppliers, Fido and Rogers, are both reporting they are sold out pretty much across the country. Some Apple Stores in Canada have them in stock, but a couple of calls revealed that even Apple Stores are often out of stock.

Both Rogers and FIDO say new shipments will arrive in 'weeks,' and that back orders are being filled on a priority basis. No dates are being given, and buyers are being told to check back with their local stores or online.

There were similar shortages in Canada and the UK earlier this month. During the Apple conference call last Tuesday, COO Tim Cook said iPhone demand has been "staggering in almost every country we've shipped in."

Apple will need to fix this issue pretty fast. The company says it is going to release the new iPhone to 20 more countries on August 22.

Thanks to our reader Alistair for the tip.
TUAW iPhone supplies dwindle in Canada originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Found Footage: Robochan gets a 3GS upgrade
Filed under: Odds and ends, Found Footage, iPhone, iPod touch

Back in May, our own Steven Sande reported on a robot with an iPod touch for a head. At the time, Robochan was pretty limited in capability and could only mimic back taught poses and stumble around drunkenly.

A lot has happened in two short months. Robochan has received a brain-transplant courtesy of the iPhone 3GS as well as other software changes. He's been given alarm functionality to wake you up at a specified time, basic human interaction, and motion teaching and playback. But most importantly, Robochan can now dance around drunkenly to match his drunken walking.

As a robot fanatic I can only hope we see a more sober version of this robot on store shelves everywhere, but I'm not holding my breath.
TUAW Found Footage: Robochan gets a 3GS upgrade originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Is AT&T behind the rejection and removal of Google Voice apps?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Wireless, Bad Apple, iPhone, App Store
In the wake of TJ Luoma's report earlier tonight that the two independent Google Voice applications have been removed from the App Store, Jason Kincaid at TechCrunch says that the official Google Voice app has also been given the shaft. He theorizes that, despite the official Apple line that the apps "duplicate features that come with the iPhone," the real reason the apps were removed was because of squawking from AT&T.

While TechCrunch doesn't offer any definitive proof that AT&T is behind the Google Voice blockage, they do cite GV Mobile developer Sean Kovacs' point that Phil Schiller himself, who you may remember from Apple events like Macworld '09 and WWDC, personally approved the GV Mobile app last April. In fact, Kovacs says that Schiller called him to apologize for the delays in getting the app approved.

Given that high-level support for the app, it's not hard to follow TechCrunch's logic and set sights on AT&T when looking for reasons for its removal. While few people would argue that Apple's app approval process is pretty broken right now, it's hard to believe that an application that was approved by Apple's VP of marketing was somehow magically unapproved because it "duplicates functionality."

As TJ said in his post, it's difficult to believe that Apple truly thinks users will be confused by an application that does the same thing as the built-in Phone app when they went out of their way to purchase and download it. Even setting that aside, it's not at all clear exactly what functionality is supposedly being duplicated. If it's the dialer, then that's a poor excuse; lots of other approved apps include dialers, including Skype. If it's the SMS functionality, again, poor excuse, as other apps provide SMS functionality as well.

It's true that Google Voice isn't necessarily as "scary" to AT&T as a true VoIP app like Skype, but some of the Google Voice functions that TechCrunch describes, like free SMS messages and cheaper long distance, certainly do sound like something that would rattle AT&T's cage.

Take into consideration that Skype was approved because it will only work over Wi-Fi, even though there's no technical reason it shouldn't run over 3G. Look at how crippled SlingPlayer is compared to the same app on other phones. Now, Google Voice is dead in the water on the iPhone. What we have is a very clear and disturbing pattern. Applications that provide innovative solutions to users, but which fall outside the bounds of what a traditionally-minded telecommunications company like AT&T considers acceptable, are being either hobbled by arbitrary restrictions like Skype and Sling or blasted out of existence like Google Voice.

Whether it's Apple's fault or AT&T's, it's getting tiresome to see innovative applications like Skype or Google Voice constantly kicked to the curb or kneecapped. Are we headed for an App Store with nothing in it except fart apps? Those, at the very least, don't duplicate any built-in iPhone functionality that I've heard of.

One more thing: who else thinks it's ironic that a company started by a couple of guys who spent lots of time phone phreaking in a garage in the 1970s now kowtows to AT&T and kills apps that help people make cheaper calls?
TUAW Is AT&T behind the rejection and removal of Google Voice apps? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Retrospect 8.1 brings back PowerPC support, improves performance
Filed under: Enterprise, Software
EMC announced today an update to its popular Retrospect network backup software; version 8.1 brings back support for PowerPC-based workstations and improves performance for Intel-based Macs.

Eric Ullman, director of project management for Retrospect, said that while older G4-based Macs will run significantly slower than their Intel-based counterparts, Retrospect 8.1 can at least back them up (a capability that was lost in the move from the legacy 6.1 version). G5s with multiple processors, however, can see performance gains of 10 to 15 percent compared to Retrospect 6.1.

Intel-based workstations will also see performance increases of 10 to 15 percent compared to 8.0, and 30 to 35 percent compared to Retrospect 6.1. Other improvements, including updates to the user interface based on feedback from early adopters, are also included in the update.

Ullman said that with Retrospect 8, EMC had "recommitted itself to the Mac market" and this update was the second part of a three-phase deployment of the completely-rebuilt Retrospect 8. Phase one was the initial release, supporting Intel processors; phase two now supports PowerPC processors. Phase three, according to Ullman, is slated for release "in the Snow Leopard timeframe," and is expected to include support for importing Retrospect 6.1 sets and configurations, among other improvements to performance and the client software.

As Steve Sande mentioned, Retrospect's update comes on the heels of BRU Server 2.0, which added a new user interface and performance improvements. Ullman noted that BRU Server and Retrospect are fundamentally different, with Retrospect scanning more closely to prevent file duplication and save time copying files. Retrospect is generally less expensive than BRU Server, though their pricing structures and trim levels are a little different.

The update is available now on the Retrospect website. It's free for Retrospect 8 users and Retrospect 6.1 users who purchased the product after January 14, 2008. For new users, Retrospect 8 comes in a variety of flavors ranging in price from $129 to $1,669, depending on the size of the network.
TUAW Retrospect 8.1 brings back PowerPC support, improves performance originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Found Footage: Why we use a Mac
Filed under: Cult of Mac, Found Footage

I'm sure it's not going to be to everyone's taste, but I think this video is really cute and it made me smile. Happy Monday!

YouTuber CBGFilms put together a great compilation of why his generation uses a Mac. Interestingly, these are the same reasons I use a Mac. Stability, usability, tight product integration and elegant design are reasons why Mac users of all all ages drink the Kool-Aid (or the unicorn tears, as it were).

Great job, Charlie!

So why do you use a Mac?

[H/T Chris Pirillo]
TUAW Found Footage: Why we use a Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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GV Mobile and Voice Central pulled from App Store
Filed under: App Store
Update: The official Google app is apparently not going to be released either.

Earlier today, iPhone developer Sean Kovacs posted on his blog that his Google Voice client, GV Mobile, is getting pulled from the App Store due to "duplicating features that the iPhone comes with (Dialer, SMS, etc)." Kovacs says he received a call from an Apple staffer, who "wouldn't send a confirmation email either - too scared I would post it."

The app still appears in the App Store, but when you attempt to purchase it you will be told "The item you tried to buy is no longer available." We've also heard that Voice Central (another Google Voice application) is similarly no longer available for purchase.

There has been speculation that Google is preparing its own iPhone app for Google Voice, however, in light of the news that Apple 'requested' that Google make Latitude a web app instead of a native app "in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone," I wonder if we are unlikely to see such an application from Google.

MailWrangler, a native Gmail client for the iPhone was also rejected from the App Store because the "application duplicates the functionality of the built-in iPhone application Mail without providing sufficient differentiation or added functionality, which will lead to user confusion."

As a heavy duty user of Gmail, I've wished for MailWrangler from the beginning. Sure you can use Gmail through Mobile Safari -- as you can use Google Voice -- but as Apple soon learned after trying to convince users and developers that web apps were all we needed, there are certain things which a native application makes much easier.

GV Mobile is a very popular application for using Google Voice on the iPhone. Apple's own phone application is great, but for Google Voice users, a native application was a nice thing to have.

I'm not sure why Apple keeps insisting that users would be confused by apps which do similar things (How many different applications are there which duplicate "Notes" functionality?), but a greater concern is the idea that a developer can work on an application, have it released to huge success, and then have Apple turn around and yank it from the App Store.

This in loco parentis attitude from Apple hurts iPhone users and developers alike. Developers like Fraser Speirs have stopped developing new applications for the iPhone and he's not the only one. (Fraser's post on Twitter was how I heard how I heard about GV Mobile being pulled from the App Store.)

I hope these are growing pains that Apple and the App Store will leave behind. Users who seek out, find, download, and install 3rd party applications are unlikely to be "confused" by the "duplication" of functionality. The fact that they sought them out is evidence that they found something lacking from the applications that Apple offers.

The App Store is wonderful, except for the parts of it which are terrible; namely, the review process (which takes too long and rejects too many apps) and the removal of applications which do no harm and which have been released for some time to great success.

UPDATE: The developers of Voice Central had an interesting conversation with Apple. Mostly involving the word "can't."
TUAW GV Mobile and Voice Central pulled from App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Livescribe for Mac gets handwriting recognition thanks to Vision Objects
Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Peripherals, Software, Odds and ends, Leopard
When it comes to cool tools for the Mac, the Livescribe Pulse smartpen is one of the most innovative. It's a pen that works with special dot paper to capture your handwriting and drawings, and links what you write to what you hear since it also records every word within earshot. All of that information is transferred to your Mac for future reference.

The Mac software that comes with the Pulse has been lacking in comparison to its Windows sibling in that it couldn't convert handwriting to editable computer text. Livescribe and Vision Objects today announced the Mac version of MyScript for Livescribe, handwriting-recognition software that converts handwritten notes from Livescribe into editable text.

Owners of the Pulse smartpen can create their own dictionaries of commonly used words, abbreviations, names, or terms for even better conversion accuracy. MyScript can directly receive handwritten notes from Livescribe Desktop, convert shapes, tables, and drawings from the pen into editable images, and send converted text from MyScript to Microsoft Word for further editing or to Apple Mail.

A 30-day free trial for Pulse smartpen owners is available here, and the program can be purchased for US$29.95 at any time. MyScript requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher on an Intel processor.
TUAW Livescribe for Mac gets handwriting recognition thanks to Vision Objects originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hackintosh netbook compatibility updated
Filed under: Hardware, OS, Hacks
Boing Boing's gadget blog has updated the list of potential hackintosh netbooks. You can ponder the whole thing or cut to the chase: "...get a HP Mini 1000 or a Dell Mini 9/Vostro A90." While the Mini 9 has been discontinued, the Vostro A90 is apparently a rebadged version of the highly hackable Dell and it works just as well as the original.

The Eee 1000H also scored highly. There are 21 machines on the chart, each scored across 10 items like working Wi-Fi, Ethernet, sound board and so on.

Our own Steven Sande wrote about his experiences with turning a Dell Mini 9 into a hackintosh. His experience was less than optimal, but your own may differ (those Windows and Intel stickers sure do look sweet).

In related news, the fabled and still non-existent "iTablet" is rumored to be coming this year or next, depending on whom you choose to believe. As for me, I'd be happy enough to pick up a 13" MacBook Pro and call it a day. It's small enough for a daily ride in my backpack and is a genuine Mac. But as my hacker friends would say, "Where's the fun in that?"

[Via Gizmodo]
TUAW Hackintosh netbook compatibility updated originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Booyah releases Booyah Society, an app/game that tracks "life achievements"
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store

Booyah is a company I've had my eye on for a while -- they're a couple of veterans from Blizzard Entertainment (makers of the popular Diablo and World of Warcraft games, two of my favorites) who have been teasing a big-time iPhone app. Just today, they've finally showed their cards, and have released Booyah Society, a 3D, interactive, social network-connected "achievement system for life." If that sounds like an idea that's pretty floaty, you probably heard it right.

Basically it's a game system that more or less overlays on what you're already posting to Facebook and Twitter. If you do anything from conquering a new videogame to doing a new exercise to visiting a new restaurant, you can earn achievements and points for an ingame avatar and scoreboard. In essence, they're aiming to take the things we already tell each other we're doing, and put this game/scoring system on top of that. There are plans to use the iPhone's hardware to do some self-reporting (GPS to track where you've been), but for now, everything's basically on the honor system.

Will it work? Who knows. The app is available for free right now, and they're planning to include microtransactions in the future to let you buy things to dress up your avatar with, as well as looking at partnerships with other businesses (i.e., you can get a certain achievement by going to Wendy's and ordering some fries). Very interesting -- as with most social app ideas, this one seems like it'll make or break it based on who chooses to play it faithfully. They've got quite a pedigree with the Blizzard background, and built-in audiences with Facebook and Twitter integration, but whether or not people will find themselves invested in tracking these achievements and scoring points for their avatars, only time will tell.
TUAW Booyah releases Booyah Society, an app/game that tracks "life achievements" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple posts iPhone OS 3.1 Beta 3 for developers
Filed under: iPhone, SDK, iPod touch
Apple has just released Beta 3 of iPhone OS 3.1 for iPhone developers. As this remains under NDA, I cannot post any details about changes to the OS. The updates include the OS for the device, as well as the SDK used to develop iPhone applications. If you're a registered iPhone developer, head on over to the iPhone Dev Center to download your updates.
TUAW Apple posts iPhone OS 3.1 Beta 3 for developers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Good news, bad news: WD ships first 1 TB mobile drive, doesn't fit in Mac laptops
Filed under: Hardware, Peripherals, Portables, Odds and ends, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air
Yes, it's a lot of storage -- but the drive's form factor won't fit into any currently available Mac laptop. (Note the update at the end of this post)

I was pretty excited when the Western Digital news release hit my inbox. The new drives, the industry's first in that size for portables, have pretty good specs and capacious storage space. The problem really is the size. With Apple in the business of providing slim notebooks, the drive is just too tall (12.5mm) to make it into any Apple portable, which maxes out at a drive size of 9.5mm.

The drive will be available in a USB enclosure, and WD is also offering a 750 GB version of the drive as well. The 1 TB drive lists for US$250, while the 750 GB drive is $189. Those prices are for the drive alone. Mounted in a USB enclosure the 1 TB drive sells for $300.

Currently the largest 3rd party drives you can get in current Mac laptops max out at 500 GB.

The Mac Mini may be able to house the new drive, but it would be a pretty tight fit, and according to our Steven Sande, may require the removal of the SuperDrive.

Update: We've had a variety of responses to this post, with different ideas about which, if any laptops could take this new high capacity drive. I thought the quickest and best approach would be to try the experts at Other World Computing, who make a living selling replacement hard drives for Mac Desktops and portables. The tech there told me that the last generation 17" MacBook Pro can take the 12.5mm drive, but that the 15" model can't. He also said none of the unibody MacBook Pro models can take a drive of that size. I'm sure some won't accept this information either, but these were the most expert opinions we could find since Western Digital wasn't sure and Apple doesn't generally comment on such things. Since the drives are just shipping, we'll wait for some real world experience and report back. Thanks to all who commented.
TUAW Good news, bad news: WD ships first 1 TB mobile drive, doesn't fit in Mac laptops originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mac 101: The Open File dialog's media browser
Filed under: Mac 101
Updated to clarify that the media browser option is in the Open dialog, not in Finder windows.

More Mac 101, our series of tips for new and novice Mac OS X users. Here's a tip that I was recently reminded of while choosing photos from a web browser for upload. Mac OS X Leopard~~'s Finder~~ has a handy media browser built into the open dialog box, not entirely unlike that found in the iLife suite.

Let's say you're looking for a photo to upload to Flickr or similar service. With your browser open, select Open from the File menu to invoke the Open Dialog Box. On the left hand side, select Media. Now you can browse your iPhoto library and even scrub through Events if you have iLife '09 installed. From there, select the photo you want, click Open and you've got it.

There are also a couple of tricks available that aren't immediately obvious. First, control-click (or right-click on your mouse) any neutral space in the dialog box to bring up a contextual menu with the option to switch between icon view and list view. Once in list view, the contextual menu adds options to open a file in its parent app, reveal its location in the Finder and display information columns (name, size, kind, etc.).

Additionally, hitting the space bar with an item selected highlights it, similar to Quick Look. A photo is brought to the forefront and music and movie previews are played.

It's handy, often overlooked and a great way to ensure that you've got exactly the file you want.
TUAW Mac 101: The Open File dialog's media browser originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Beta Beat: BusyCal from BusyMac
Filed under: Cool tools, Productivity, Beta Beat

The BusyCal public beta is out! I got a preview of BusyCal while at WWDC this year, and have been anxiously awaiting the chance to put it into action. As the developers state on the homepage: "Think of it as iCal Pro." The next step from the makers of BusySync, BusyCal offers a full calendaring system with Bonjour and Google Calendar sync, iPhone sync via iTunes or MobileMe, full read-write access for multi-user calendars, and a plethora of other features and goodies.

Dated to-dos are embedded in the calendar, optionally carrying forward if not completed on their due date. You can add recurring to-do items with the same carry-forward functionality. There are customizable views, including sortable list views, plus shared sticky notes, customizable graphics, live weather and forecasts (with sunrise/set times and moon phases), all in an easy-to-grasp, iCal-like interface.

If you've ever thought, "Gosh, I like iCal, I just wish it had about 20 more useful features and could sync across my LAN and the internet," take the public beta of BusyCal for a spin. BusyCal will cost $40US per computer, or $10/computer for BusySync owners. Doing the math, BusySync is $25, plus the $10 upgrade is $35, so you could save yourself $5 taking the upgrade path, even with a new purchase of BusySync.
TUAW Beta Beat: BusyCal from BusyMac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iTunes Store to add enhanced liner notes, extra media to album purchases
Filed under: iTunes

Digital music purchases have been dominating the market for some time now as physical CD purchases continue to fall. For Apple, a significant lead over the rest of the music proprietor world is not enough: according to the Financial Times, the company is now working together with the four largest record labels in the business to add new features to accompany digital music purchases through its iTunes Store in hopes of stimulating full album purchases.

[The FT also reports, without hedging, that Apple's "media pad" tablet device will ship in time for the holiday shopping season. According to the paper, the long-rumored iPad is intended as a full-featured portable computer and video & music player, like an oversized iPod touch, including wireless data connectivity but no built-in phone functions.]

Apple has formed an alliance with EMI, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music to bundle whole albums with perks like interactive booklets, digital sleeve notes, and video clips. By doing so, Apple hopes to increase sales of the albums over single track purchases, a sales model that has been immensely popular in the advent of digital music.

The project, codenamed "Cocktail," is intended to recreate the former experience of album-purchasing, where you could browse the liner notes, follow lyrics, and look at the album artwork as the music played. Executives have said that users will even be able to play music straight from the proposed interactive booklets without having to use iTunes. Of course, the main motivation for increasing album sales is to increase profits, as albums have a higher margin than individual songs.

This change is one that should have taken place a long time ago- having to search for lyrics on shady, ad-ridden websites should already be a fading, shudder-inducing memory (though liner notes have been available on some albums, a change across the board has yet to take place). As items like liner notes and photos are possibly the last benefit that physical CDs can offer over digital purchases, this may turn out to be a very serious blow to the CD market. The iTunes Store album add-ons are set to roll out in September.
TUAW iTunes Store to add enhanced liner notes, extra media to album purchases originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iBank provides yet another reason to dump Quicken for Mac
Filed under: Software, Deals, MobileMe
If there's one software company and product line that can raise the ire of even the most mellow Mac user, it's Intuit and the Quicken line of accounting software. While the company rightfully owns the market for home and business accounting software in the Windows world, their Mac products are beset with bugs, delays, and incompatibility issues.

IGG Software has announced a "Why wait another day?" rebate program to persuade frustrated Quicken Mac 2007 owners to switch to iBank 3.5 (US$59.99). If you're a Canadian or U.S. owner who purchased iBank after July 10th, 2009, and have proof of ownership (installation disc or receipt) for either the Mac or Windows versions of Quicken or Microsoft Money, sending in a mail-in rebate form will get you a $20 incentive to switch to iBank.

iBank 3.5 requires Leopard, and has a number of features that take advantage of Apple technologies. For example, you can take a picture of a receipt using your iSight camera and include that with a transaction record. MobileMe users get the advantage of automatic backups of their financial data, as well as a way to enter transactions "on the road" with the companion iBank Mobile iPhone app (US$4.99, purchased separately).

All in all, the rebate is a great way to start saving money and begin working with an accounting application that was designed from the ground up to work on Macs.
TUAW iBank provides yet another reason to dump Quicken for Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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myTexts, yet another way to reduce writing distraction
Filed under: Software, Cool tools
myTexts, a new app from MOApp, caught my attention recently. It's another "distraction-free writing" app with some nice touches and a reasonable price tag. This genre of apps basically time-warps you back to the days of full-screen, menu-free, plain text word processing. The most popular of the comparable applications would be WriteRoom, which is in active development and, I believe, the original app in this category. myTexts adds some great touches to the idea.

First, myTexts uses a database to store your documents, with auto-save and auto-backup. Your entire document library can be searched, including the title, full text, document notes and user-assigned tags. Documents can be exported in a variety of formats, ranging from plain text files (.txt) to Word documents (.doc). You can even export XML/HTML. Tags assigned in the app are written to exported documents as OpenMeta tags, making Spotlight searching more efficient, if you're a "tag" kind of user.

Fonts and colors are customizable, although you only get two choices (shades of grey) for the background. There's a sidebar containing your document list, as well as notes and tags for the current document. Notes for the current document can also be popped up in a floating, always-on-top window which you can quickly paste to from other applications and which dims when not active. The sidebar automatically hides and can be triggered with a mouse-over, or you can disable the mouse trigger and call it only with a keyboard shortcut. There aren't a lot more features, but everything is keyboard-navigable and quite well-polished, especially for such a young application.

Like WriteRoom, myTexts is a Cocoa application and its editing area is fully-compatible with System Services, the OS X spell-checker and third party applications such as SpellCatcher X.

myTexts is available as a free trial, and can be purchased for 12 Euro (about $17US), making it slightly cheaper than WriteRoom (also downloadable as a free trial). If you're in the market, I'd suggest giving both apps a try, as they both have their own feel and features. The WriteRoom wiki lists a few other apps in this category, and I'm pretty sure WriteRoom 1.0 is still available as a freeware app if you don't want or need the frills.
TUAW myTexts, yet another way to reduce writing distraction originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Cool tool: Change your Mac's boot image with BootXChanger
Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Odds and ends, Freeware
Every once in a while, I get reminded about a cool tool that I've used and then totally forgotten about. In today's example, the reminder came in the form of a post on UNEASYsilence about how to change your Mac's boot image.

The boot image, in case you're new to the Mac world, is that gray Apple logo that you see after the startup chime when booting up your machine. It's surprisingly boring, so back in December of 2007 Jésus Álvarez wrote a small tool to replace that drab gray Apple with something more exciting.

BootXChanger is free, and it changes the Mac's boot image. There are limitations to what you can replace the gray Apple with -- the background must remain the boring #BFBFBF gray, the image can't be too complex, and the image should be sized at 128 x 128 pixels -- but you can do a lot within those borders. BootXChanger comes with a dozen sample images (below), and instructions are provided on how to create your own.

I was torn between "Colour Apple Logo" and "Radioactive", so I ended up trying both. You simply drag and drop an icon file to the application window, or you can click "Default Image" if you decide to go back to the current Apple icon. Here are a couple of photos of my MacBook Air starting up with the new boot images for your entertainment:

TUAW Cool tool: Change your Mac's boot image with BootXChanger originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Promo codes for nothing, apps for free
Filed under: Software, App Store, App Review

The floodgate of new iPhone apps is open and enlarging all the time. Hundreds of new entries hit the App Store every week. This is a wonderful thing, but it does cause a good deal of consternation.

If you are an iPhone owner, how can you keep up with what's out there? After all, according to Macworld, there are now nearly 500 fart apps available for your pleasure out of the 65,000 (and climbing) apps in the store. Cutting through the static is nearly impossible.

If you are a developer, how can you get the word out about your wonderful new creation? Well, there are number of ways, and since you're reading TUAW, you found one. We get many more app review requests than we can ever handle and I'm sure all the Mac and iPhone oriented sites are in the same position. Regardless of the quality of your new baby, it's hit or miss as to whether a blog or other news outlet will ever get around to reviewing it.

Apple runs a program where developers can generate a number of free promotional codes for publicity purposes. When a code is redeemed either in iTunes or right in the App store on the iPhone, the free app is installed just as if it was bought. Traditionally, the bulk of these promo codes go to sites like ours that provide publicity and hence sell apps. While Apple was briefly blocking any apps with a 17+ rating from getting promo codes, as Michael reports that policy has shifted again. The developer of Eucalyptus, an e-book reader, was surprised to find that Apple is now allowing him codes for his 17+ rated app.

[To give you an idea of how involved the app approval process can be, we earlier reported that Eucalyptus was first denied approval because they were using the Project Gutenberg catalog of public-domain books where you could download a totally non-illustrated version of the Kama Sutra. No one seems to know why the plethora of other Project Gutenberg powered e-readers had no trouble being approved, or why these apps' ratings varied.]

In late May a new site called AppGiveaway opened and partnered with developers to get paid apps into users hands for free. Sites have always had the occasional contest to win something, and that's always been good for sales, since whether you win or lose, if you entered, at least you were introduced to the product.

AppGiveaway does it differently. It provides an incentive to both buyer and seller. Developers contribute promo codes to be given away; each contest contains a full description of the app and a number of screen shots. Contests, plus a small number of Apple related stories, are all AppGiveaway does. In the month of June, AppGiveaway awarded over 130 apps and so far over 100 have been given out in the month of July. Checking the site now, there are currently 20 apps that you can enter and win.

Check it out. You'll be helping yourself and in turn, helping the developer community to get the word out. Then come right back and tell us what you found.
TUAW Promo codes for nothing, apps for free originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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