| rss2email.ru |
 SEO жизнь - зашибись!  |  MakDesigns - Модный графический дизайн  |  Блог для автовладельцев  |  Скачивайте лучшие фильмы  |
 |  TheAppleBlogTheAppleBlog, published by and for the day-to-day Apple user, is a prominent source for news, reviews, walkthroughs, and real life application of all Apple products. http://theappleblog.com рекомендовать друзьям >> |
- Magazine Publishers' Plans May Not Be Tablet-Specific
Source: Piper Jaffray
One of the strongest pieces of evidence in support of the existence of an Apple tablet has come into question today. Reports that Condé Nast, publisher of many magazine titles, including The New Yorker and Vogue, was preparing a digital format specifically for the Apple tablet may have overstated the case.
Instead, it looks like Condé Nast and others, including Hearst and Time Inc., are banding together to produce a digital distribution joint venture, which will likely resemble an iTunes store for the magazine industry. The store is apparently being designed with multiple platforms in mind, and is not being specifically targeted at a tablet device from Apple, which may or may not actually exist.
A report in the New York Observer talks about the agreement between the publishing companies, and mentions in particular the fact that the idea is to produce a cross-platform product that’s portable among many different devices:
The company will prepare magazines that can work across multiple digital platforms, whether the iPhone, the BlackBerry or countless other digital devices. The company will not develop an e-book, but create something that people familiar with the plans compare to iTunes—a store where you can buy new and distinct iterations of The New Yorker or Time. Print magazines will also be for sale.
If the deal is successful, according to the interim president of the joint company, John Squires, an official announcement could be forthcoming within weeks, and other major publishers could come on board as well. That doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing a digital newsstand anytime soon, though. Publishers still have to figure out how to create digital versions of the content they aim to provide.
Considering the multiplatform ambitions of the plan, this might be quite a tricky process. Creating a product that remains uniform and recognizable across devices is a major challenge. The consortium simplifies the distribution portion of the equation, though, as a source explained to the Observer:
It's pretty complicated stuff. The really, really hard part is that you've got so many different kinds of devices running on different operating systems. And how do you handle that? The consortium provides one point of contact for the consumer. When you come to the main store, you can get the content any way you want.
It’s possible that this is completely separate from Condé Nast’s plans for Apple’s tablet device, but the timing and nature of the digital distribution scheme make it sound like any tablet formatting may be incidental to a much broader initiative.
Переслать - eBay Introduces Bargain-Hunting Deals App for the iPhone
The biggest shopping day of the year for Americans is this Friday, the dreaded Black Friday, and people are in a consuming mood. At the same time, economic pressures have folks watching what they spend. eBay today introduced a new app that capitalizes on both those impulses, called Deals.Deals shares a lot of the functionality of the more full featured eBay mobile app, but it specifically targets eBay’s daily deals, and any zero bid items that have less than four hours remaining in their auction times, with no reserve price and free or fixed rate shipping, and a total price that includes shipping costs. In other words, with the deals the app presents, you pay exactly the price listed.
The app opens with a few featured daily deals already displayed in rotation on the main screen. You can then click on category buttons at the bottom, choosing between apparel, sports, computers, instruments, jewelry, electronics, collectibles, and photography to view auctions from those categories that fit the criteria I mentioned above.
The built-in searches are great for idle browsing (and possibly ruinous for those with strong impulse buying urges), but if you want to target items more specifically, you can either search on the fly, or create and save your own custom search. Creating a custom search allows you to specify keywords, a category, and a price range, and also assign an icon that will be displayed alongside the other default categories at the bottom of the app screen.
If you’d rather not save your search, there’s a magnifying glass icon at the top of the app that you can use instead to launch a one-time search. Next to that is another button that lists all the deals found in your most recent search. In use, I found that there wasn’t enough search criteria to ensure truly focused results. I’d love the addition of an “at least x dollars” filter, so that when I search for “iPhone,” for example, I can filter out most accessories and replacement parts.Finally, you can sign in with your eBay account so that you can pay on the fly for any deal you find via the app with PayPal. The idea behind the app, after all, is to make sure eBay customers have access to the site no matter where they are. Apparently eBay mobile wasn’t driving enough business, and the Deals app is designed to remedy that situation. The app is free in the U.S. store (iTunes link), but beware the hidden costs of shopaholism.
Переслать - Should the App Store Let You Demo Apps?
Recently, here at TheAppleBlog, we made some backstage changes. Over time we realized that Socialcast was great for sharing and discussing ideas, but not ideal for handling business related tasks. As a result, we made the jump over to Basecamp. It doesn’t have the microblog feel of Socialcast, but it’s definitely easier to organize and communicate.
When we made the switch, my first thought was “I wonder if there are any iPhone apps for Basecamp!” A quick search in the Store reveals 17 Basecamp related apps ranging in price from free to $12.99. As a potential buyer, how can I possibly decide which one is the best value?
One of my issues with the app store is that ratings are very inconsistent. A few complaints over accidental crashes can definitely skew a score, and screenshots really don’t help me understand the app’s look and feel. I need to click around and play a little before I decide the fate of an app’s life on my iPhone.
My question is: why won’t Apple allow me to try an app before I buy it? The availability countdown works great for content rented from the store like movies. I can play all I want for 24 hours, and then it’s deactivated. That would be ideal for apps too. I download it, see how it works, and after some time the app prompts me to purchase when launched. The prompt has a link to the app’s page in the store and I can make my decision. This is often how it’s done on the desktop. Why not the iPhone?
As for Basecamp, I ended up sticking with the free version of Sherpa. It covers the basics and it doesn’t crash. I would prefer to try them all, but that’s impossible. For now…
So, what do you think? Should Apple implement a trial period on all for-pay apps? What do you think are the pros and cons?
Переслать - Reports Surface of Faulty Core i7 iMacs
Shattered glass. Flickering displays. Non-booting machines. So-goes the list of maladies affecting Apple's brand new quad-core 27" Core i7-based iMacs. Threads over on the Apple Support Discussion forums are alive with complaints and debate by affected users.
After hitting the power button, some owners hear the startup chime, but don't get to boot successfully to their desktop. One particularly high-profile customer was Engadget, who took delivery of a machine that simply refused to boot. They didn't even get as far as the teasing chime.
A video has surfaced on YouTube of a machine that does boot, but its display ducks out and "flashes" every so often, rendering it impractical (and uncomfortable) for any kind of actual use.
Several customers are reporting shattered or cracked glass on the bottom left hand corner of the iMac's huge display.
There's currently no official comment on the matter by Apple (I doubt there ever will be) but the favourite explanation floating around the intertubes is that the packaging for these computers is somehow flawed, leading to damage (visible and otherwise) of their precious contents while in transit.
Gizmodo says:
What’s most plausible is that the packaging just wasn’t designed to handle the size and weight of the giant 27-inch iMac as it gets tossed around the cab of a FedEx truck. Apple has so far been extremely responsive and effective in making repairs and exchanges, but it’s still a discomfiting sign.
This is the second wave of bad news regarding Apple’s new 27″ iMac lineup. Late last month reports surfaced on the Apple Support discussion website of incredibly sluggish Flash playback, and claims of a bug causing hard drives to spin down and even of a faulty Snow Leopard installation. You can read those discussion for yourself here and here.
So, if you bought one of these machines as a holiday gift for someone, it's probably a good idea to open the box and take it for a test-drive, while there's still time to get a replacement from Apple should the need arise.
Have you been affected by one of these faults?
Переслать - A Tale of Two Hard Drives: Apple's Secret Weapon?
In my day job, helping people with computers, I see many failed hard drives. If the computer is under warranty, I’ll always try to get the system manufacturer to replace the drive rather than order a new one for the customer. Recently, two clients came in, one right after another, and it really illustrated the differences between Apple and everyone else when it comes to hardware support. “Lauren” bought a sub-$1000 PC, but didn’t consider the support costs and time involved. If she had, she might have second thoughts about her decision to buy a PC.The Dell Experience
Client #1 comes in because Windows won’t boot. The minute she turns on the PC, I know the problem. It’s that horrible high-pitched clicking noise that is worse than nails on a chalkboard to any technician. It’s obvious the drive has failed and the solution is to replace it. I booted off a test CD and verified the hard drive failure.
Fortunately the computer is under warranty. No big deal, Dell should replace the hard drive. I call Dell. After 20 minutes on hold, I’m not getting a live person, so I try the online chat and wait and wait and wait. Eventually, someone comes online. The first obstacle is that the client is a student and the father bought the computer via his work. Dell will not assist us until we tell them the owner of the computer and the shipping address. Arrrgh. So we play a multiple choice game for about 20 minutes trying to find out which name and address it was under.
We are now at about an hour. When we get the “correct” answer to the shipping address, our tech then begins to help us. I explain that the hard drive is making a high pitched clicking noise and the system doesn’t show a hard drive. First, the tech wants me to try a special diagnostic that is preformed off the hard drive. Of course the hard drive is dead, so we go back and forth with that I must be doing something wrong. His English was so shaky that I often didn’t understand his questions. (How does one answer ”Is this issue not facing now?”) Eventually the tech believes I’m doing it right and then asks me to boot off a CD that come with the system, which of course the client doesn’t have. We’re supposed to look for the disks and contact them again, but I refused. The client didn’t know where the disk is and we needed this resolved.
Eventually, the support person realizes we don’t have the disk, but he now wants us to open up the computer and reset everything. We’re now at the 1.5 hour mark. Eventually the agent agrees the hard drive should be replaced. Thank you! However, they must ship the hard drive to one of their contracted field techs per her warranty. Actually, that’s lucky; sometimes you have to ship the computer back to Dell. Her warranty was “upgraded” to include on-site repair. The tech will then contact her to set a time to install the hard drive. Three days later, there was no contact from the tech, no hard drive. Fortunately, I gave her a loaner and got her up and running.
We tried calling Dell to no avail. There was no record of the request for the hard drive. Eventually we contacted Dell “Unresolved Issues” and the hard drive was shipped. Total time on the phone: three hours. Delay in hard drive replacement: almost two weeks. The time involved on the chat I assure you is very typical and it’s not just Dell. I see it with HP/Compaqs as well. Service is simply not part of their deal.
The Apple Experience
My next client had a Macbook. I could hear it was the same problem immediately. Ironically, it was the same brand and size of hard drive as was in the Dell. I entered her serial number on Apple’s support web site, and it showed the computer was still under warranty. We then set up a “Speak to an Apple Expert” call-back for about 20 minutes later. On the dot, the technician called. I explained the loud noise and told the tech I booted off the Leopard DVD and the hard drive showed errors. He agreed to ship a new hard drive the next day. Total phone time was less than five minutes and it was 30 minutes from problem diagnosis to closure and less than 24 hours from the time I called until the new hard drive arrived on her doorstop. Again, this interaction was very typical.
For the sake of argument, let’s say these clients didn’t use a consultant to solve their problem. The Mac client could have made an appointment with a genius if an Apple store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for the repair. The PC client has no physical store she could go to unless she bought that PC at a store that also offered warranty repair.
The phrase “Penny wise and Pound foolish” comes to mind. Did the first client end up saving money because she bought a PC?
Переслать - Star Wars: Trench Run Brings the Force to the iPhone
Star Wars: Trench Run is finally here and this thing is utterly beautiful, packed with authentic audio and video from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and boasting impressive gameplay visuals.
Trench Run is based around the Rebel assault on the Death Star at the end of George Lucas' classic 1977 movie. Piloting an X-Wing fighter, you begin the game high above the Empire's dreaded Death Star in an aggressive dogfight with TIE fighters. Once you've dispatched them, it's time to descend into that famous trench and make your approach to a small (two meter wide) thermal exhaust port, which, if memory serves, you'll find right below the main port.
Oh, and, the shaft is ray-shielded so you'll need to hit it directly with proton torpedoes. The doubting Dodonna's amongst you might think that impossible — even for an iPhone — but, y'know, womp rats, T-16's and all that.
The game starts with a fierce dogfight with TIE fighters above the dreaded Death Star…
…and culminates in the famous trench run.
Trench Run uses the iPhone's accelerometers to great effect. I'm usually wary of extensive tilt-control. That might be because I'm just rubbish, or because developers sometimes use accelerometers unnecessarily. In Trench Run it's not too bad, and there are options for adjusting pitch and sensitivity.
The on-screen controls are cleverly implemented; there are no virtual buttons cluttering the screen. Instead, the two main controls (Force Power for slow motion and, of course, Fire) are activated by pressing the left or right hand sides of the screen. Easy.
The few controls are activated by hitting large areas of the screen
Video sequences of the X-Wings approaching the Death Star (S-foils in attack position, naturally) and the spectacular explosion of the Death Star itself (the 1997 bang, by the way) really help set the scene. But it's John Williams' breathtaking score that puts you slap bang in the middle of the action.
All Wings report in…
One quibble; the difficulty levels are a bit… odd. The easiest level was selected for me at installation so I bumped it up a level (usually labeled "Normal" but Trench Run goes directly from Easy to Medium.) So, with Medium selected, I dove in… and failed. I'm normally good at this type of thing but after 15 minutes of failure I was starting to hate this game. So I tried again on "Easy."
10 minutes later I had destroyed the Death Star and defeated the evil Empire. I had finished the whole game. See, once the dogfight’s over, the actual trench run is appallingly easy. THQ Wireless say the game has "tons of replay value" but when the difference between "Easy" and "Medium" is actually "Pointless" and "Practically Impossible" I don't see myself playing this again any time soon. (Now in your best Yoda voice, croak "That is why you fail.")
THQ also says there are hidden features in the game. You could always stretch out with your fingers and ask Google what they are, but that's probably the path to the Dark Side.
If you love Star Wars, this is a game you should own. I doubt it's worth the $4.99 asking price, but hey, there's profit to be had, and Lucasfilm ain’t finished beating this Tauntaun just yet.
Star Wars Trench Run is out now. Go buy it – and may the Force be with you.
Переслать - The Worm Has Turned: iPhone Exploit Gets Nasty
Last week the news about yet another non-belligerent iPhone worm did the rounds and people responded by saying things like "How silly jailbreaker's are for not changing their SSH root passwords," and "It's only a matter of time until a worm appears that's not so friendly…" OK, yes, geeky people said those things. Normals will likely never know that jailbreaking is something you can do to a phone.
Well, the predictions of gloom have proven true. Over the last few days, and reported by The Mac Observer, a new worm has been identified. This one, (so-far limited to iPhone owners in the Netherlands), takes advantage of the exact same SSH-exploit as the previous worm. Once on a user's iPhone, it circumvents Mobile Safari's anti-phishing technology to present a spoof of a popular banking website. Users are tricked into handing over their online banking authentication details. The worm spreads from iPhone to iPhone, but is limited to jailbroken handsets connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Apple has weighed-in with its own sage wisdom and advice on the matter. Speaking to The Loop's Jim Dalrymple, Apple spokesperson Natalie Harrison said:
The worm affects only a very specific set of iPhone users who have jail broken their iPhones and hacked it with unauthorized software. As we've said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones, and for good reason. These hacks not only violate the warranty, they will also cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably.
If you live in the Netherlands and have jailbroken your iPhone and installed SSH, you need to change the default password to protect yourself from this particular exploit. Just don’t think you’ll be safe — Apple might keep the iPhone platform locked-down tight, but you can’t argue against the obvious security advantages of doing so. To date, there have been four confirmed worms “in the wild” on jailbroken iPhones. How many confirmed worms have appeared in the wild that affect non-jailbroken iPhones? There you have it.
The Real Question Is…
But the real question, as I see it, is this; who jailbreaks any more? I mean, really… who? Why? The single biggest reason people originally went to the trouble of jailbreaking their iPhones was due to frustration at the lack of native apps. (Back in the early days of iPhone ownership, and before the app store existed, only Apple's own home-grown apps were locally installed on the device. Every third-party apps ran inside Mobile Safari and, therefore, required access to the Internet.) I did a lot of travel back then, usually by air and train, so I didn’t always have a reliable Internet connection; this rendered most of my web apps useless. That annoyed me, and I very nearly did the whole jailbreaking thing just so I could install applications locally that would work irrespective of an active Internet connection. (Ultimately I wussed-out, too afraid I'd permanently mess-up my precious — and expensive — iPhone.)
But that was then, and times have changed.. What other compelling reasons were there to void Apple's iPhone warranty? MMS, video recording, exchange server support, multitasking and Copy & Paste were the "most missed" features. Today we have more apps than you can shake an iPhone at. We have MMS and video recording, exchange support and copy & paste.
The only thing missing is "true" multitasking, but for the vast majority of iPhone owners (for whom multitasking is another way of saying "I want instant messaging!"), Apple's Push Notification Service does a decent job of balancing productive multitasking with preserving battery life.
So… why jailbreak? Is it a form of protest against Apple's broken application approval process? Is it because you absolutely must replace the default icons with something far less classy? Perhaps you can’t live without tethering? Tell us in the comments the (few) remaining reasons for jailbreaking an iPhone.
Just please don't say it's for geek cred… I might cry!
Переслать
| rss2email.ru | отписаться: http://www.rss2email.ru/unsubscribe.asp?c=6893&u=24004&r=311667163 управление подпиской: http://www.rss2email.ru/manage.asp |
