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- Walt Disney World on five apps a week
Filed under: App Review
We did a write-up of apps used at Disneyland and Walt Disney World back in November, but I just spent a week at Walt Disney World where my daughter got married, and wanted to add some personal perspective on my experience with five iPhone/iPod touch apps for seven days. There are a lot of apps out for Walt Disney World, but from reviews both here and anywhere else I could find, I decided upon, and bought, five of them. The quality of these apps ranged from beautiful but arcane, to incredibly useful.
The most eye-catching of all the apps has to be The Walt Disney World Maps Boxed Set US$3.99 [iTunes Link]. This set contains maps of all four parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot, along with Downtown Disney, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon and the Orlando International Airport tossed in for good measure. Maps of each of the parks can be bought individually for US$.99. When running the app, you are presented with the main screen which goes black for a few seconds and then re-appears. Odd. Tapping on any of the parks gives you a detailed "cartoony-looking" map that can be pinched and stretched to an extent. You can't pinch any map enough to see the entire park on one screen. This means that you really have to know basically what you're looking for before the app can be of much help, and since the map has no text of what the buildings represent, it's hit or miss. At least it was until I found the spyglass button which brings up a screen that searches attractions either by A to Z, by location, or by category. Choosing one brings up a screen with the name, a one line description, and some additional information.We did a write-up of apps used at Disneyland and Walt Disney World back in November, but I just spent a week at Walt Disney World where my daughter got married, and wanted to add some personal perspective on my experience with five iPhone/iPod touch apps for seven days. There are a lot of apps out for Walt Disney World, but from reviews both here and anywhere else I could find, I decided upon, and bought, five of them. The quality of these apps ranged from beautiful but arcane, to incredibly useful.
The most eye-catching of all the apps has to be The Walt Disney World Maps Boxed Set US$3.99 [iTunes Link]. This set contains maps of all four parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot, along with Downtown Disney, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon and the Orlando International Airport tossed in for good measure. Maps of each of the parks can be bought individually for US$.99. When running the app, you are presented with the main screen which goes black for a few seconds and then re-appears. Odd. Tapping on any of the parks gives you a detailed "cartoony-looking" map that can be pinched and stretched to an extent. You can't pinch any map enough to see the entire park on one screen. This means that you really have to know basically what you're looking for before the app can be of much help, and since the map has no text of what the buildings represent, it's hit or miss. At least it was until I found the spyglass button which brings up a screen that searches attractions either by A to Z, by location, or by category. Choosing one brings up a screen with the name, a one line description, and some additional information.TUAWWalt Disney World on five apps a week originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Walt Disney World - Magic Kingdom - Orlando International Airport - Walt Disney World Resort - Disney's Animal Kingdom
Переслать - Report: iPhone, Android, Blackberry users use the same apps
Filed under: Software, Freeware, Developer, iPhone, App Store
I'm not sure if this is a fascinating peek at the way we're wired or an obvious conclusion based on reason, but I'll let you decide. Despite the fact that they seem to be polar opposites on Internet forums and comment sections, Android, Blackberry, and iPhone users all end up using mostly the same apps. That's according to an "app discovery service" over on Facebook called Mplayit, which tracked 42,000 visitors and the apps they preferred for a set of "genres." Turns out that for the various categories, the same cross-platform apps tended to be the most popular on the different platforms. Evernote topped the charts for Lists and Notes, Shazam and Pandora were on all three lists for music, and apps like Yelp and Facebook sat high on the chart for multiple platforms. In the end, an app is an app is an app, "app"arently, and it doesn't really matter which platform you're using it on.
There were a few difference of course -- in the "Utilities" section, things were different for each platform. Bump is the most popular for iPhone, Google Goggles was most popular on Android, and Vlingo won on Blackberry. As far as I know, with the possible exception of Bump, those are all platform-exclusive apps. But in general, if an app is available on multiple platforms, a popular app on one platform means it'll be popular on the other. Good to know both for developers (a hit in one place means a hit somewhere else, too) and for consumers: next time you choose a smartphone, the apps probably won't matter as much as the hardware features.TUAWReport: iPhone, Android, Blackberry users use the same apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Zen Bound 2 coming soon with beefed-up graphics, smoother interface
Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone
The fine gents at Touch Arcade have the first confirmation and screenshot of the sequel to one of our favorite games of 2009, Zen Bound 2. As you can see above, the new version (on the right) is a little more subdued with a cleaner UI, although Secret Exit stresses that this is still a work in progress (and obviously they'll have new objects to wrap up in rope to score points). But the new engine will be upgraded to use the most current version of OpenGL available in the iPhone, and you can see that on the rope above -- there are cleaner textures, and supposedly it'll move more smoothly as you play.
Looks awesome to us. There still isn't an official announcement yet (this is actually a teaser picture), but that's expected soon, with a release still a few months out. So if you haven't tried out the first Zen Bound [iTunes link] yet, you've got plenty of time to pick it up and get good before the sequel.TUAWZen Bound 2 coming soon with beefed-up graphics, smoother interface originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Pirates make away with $450 million in App Store booty?
Filed under: Apple Financial, App Store, Jailbreak/pwnage
24/7WallSt. reports that Apple and third-party developers have lost approximately $450 million in revenue from App Store piracy since the store opened in July of 2008. Out of this, $140 million of this counts as lost revenue for Apple - a huge chunk of the $500 - $700 million in revenue the App Store has generated for the company so far - with the remaining $310 million revenue loss falling on developers.
Their analysis is based on several assumptions, however, any one of which could easily be wide of the mark. They argue that with three billion downloads on the App Store (not an assumption), 17% of those are paid apps (assumption), with a piracy rate of 75% (assumption), and the number of pirate downloads at 1.53 billion. If the average price of a paid app is $3 (assumption), then there's $4.59 billion in losses. Assuming that only about 10% of the pirates who downloaded apps would have actually bought them, that makes the total $459 million. Still with us?
According to 24/7WallSt.'s analysis, around 10% of iPhone/iPod touch users have chosen to jailbreak their devices, and it's only about 40% of these jailbroken users who are responsible for this torrent (ahem) of piracy. This means that, according to 24/7WallSt.'s numbers, out of a rough total of 75 million worldwide iPhones and iPod touches, a mere 3 million devices are responsible for the 1.53 billion apps 24/7WallSt. is claiming have been downloaded illegally.
For those of you calculating along at home, that works out to an average of 510 pirated apps per device. That snap you just heard was suspension of disbelief.
[Via MacRumors]
There's no question that App Store piracy is a huge problem, especially with some developers noting that as much as 90% of downloads of their apps are pirated versions. But 24/7WallSt.'s numbers seem outlandish to say the least. Analyzing how much money a company would have made if not for the dirty, dirty pirates is always a guessing game at best and economic voodoo at worst. Although 24/7WallSt. claims that Apple doesn't see this lost revenue as a priority because the App Store essentially exists only to sell iPhones and iPod touches, it's hard to believe that even a company as stuffed with cash as Apple would simply look the other way and twiddle its thumbs over $140 million in lost revenue.
Developers: how bad is App Store piracy, really? What have your experiences been? Let us know in the comments.TUAWPirates make away with $450 million in App Store booty? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Rain Design's iMac turntable sends the iMac for a spin
Filed under: Accessories, Cool tools, Odds and ends, iMac
iMacs are great, except when you have one sitting with its back to a wall and you need to plug something into the back of it. Particularly with the larger models, you end up having to pick up the iMac and swing it around to get to those ports on the back. Wouldn't it be a lot easier if you could just spin it?
That's the idea behind the Rain Design i360, a turntable that encloses the base of an iMac or Apple Cinema Display, and then allows easy movement of the display. Want to show a co-worker on the "back" side of your iMac something? Just spin the entire computer around. Need to plug or unplug something? No problem -- just swing the iMac or Cinema Display around and do it.
I've had an i360 on my first-generation Intel iMac since just after I bought it, and I can't count the number of times that it has saved me from having to pick up the computer and slide it around to plug something in. I've recommended the i360 to many of my Mac consulting customers who have iMacs or Cinema Displays, and many of them end up buying the device.
The i360 base has a bit of weight to it so it doesn't move, and there are rubber feet on the bottom to insure that your desktop isn't scratched. The computer or display base is held in place with a single screw, so installation is simple. The manufacturer's teardrop logo cutout (seen above) has a clear plastic window, so you can put a picture or logo into it just for fun.
There are now two models of the i360. The original, available for US$39.90, works with the 20" and 21.5" aluminum iMacs, the 15", 17" and 20" "plastic" G5 and Intel iMacs, and the 20" and 23" Cinema Display. To match the iMac you own, the base of the i360 comes in either painted white or in bare aluminum. The new model (US$44.90), called the i360 24", fits the 24" and 27" aluminum iMacs and the 24" Cinema Display. Alas, there is no i360 for the 30" Cinema Display.
The i360 has served me well over the years, and it surprised me to find that TUAW hadn't reported on this cool piece of hardware before. If you find your iMac sitting in the wrong direction often, it might be worth getting one and taking it for a spin.TUAWRain Design's iMac turntable sends the iMac for a spin originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Flash on the iPhone, in demo form
Flash has finally made its way to the iPhone, with the help of some sneaky developers. The open source Gordon project, hosted over at github, has provided a JavaScript-powered Flash runtime. With it, you can actually load and view Flash's .swf files, even on the iPhone's Mobile Safari browser. I gave it a try earlier today and was delighted to find that several Flash demos ran fine on my 3GS, no jailbreaking or other installation necessary.
Admittedly, this is a very preliminary build, that supports just these SWF tags. Also, to make this work, Flash developers will need to encapsulate the SWF into an HTML wrapper, importing the Gordon JavaScript source and then loading the swf, as shown here. I am not a Flash expert by any means, but this seems like a pretty cool development for any iPhone enthusiasts who would be interested in seeing the platform support that technology. At this point, there's not much to show for it besides a few demos (and who knows what Apple will think about this), but at least there's a currently viable way to run and view Flash on the iPhone.
Thanks, August Joki. And yes, the project name is apparently a riff on Flash Gordon
TUAWFlash on the iPhone, in demo form originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Grab the Cheetos, it's time for TUAW TV Live (5 PM ET)
Filed under: Humor, Video, Odds and ends
Today marks the fourth episode of TUAW TV Live, our regular Wednesday Ustream broadcast featuring news, reviews, and discussion of eveything Apple.
Join TUAW lead blogger Steve Sande in the chat by watching the live stream in the window below (starts at 5 PM ET, 2 PM PT), then using the chat tool to add your voice to the chorus of Mac and iPhone goodness. You can also view the show by visiting http://ustream.tv/tuaw.
Past episodes are available for viewing at the same location on Ustream.
TUAWGrab the Cheetos, it's time for TUAW TV Live (5 PM ET) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Rumor: Intel's Core i5 to show up in MacBook Pros this month
Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Macbook Pro
Spanish website faq-mac.com had an interesting tidbit this morning. As seen in the screenshot from the site, an Intel Retail Edge program email showed a giveaway for a MacBook Pro. While that's not unusual -- a MacBook Pro makes a great prize for any contest -- the email showed that the MacBook Pros in question were equipped with Intel Core i5 processors. Existing MacBook Pro models use Intel's Core 2 Duo processors.
A loose translation of the pertinent section of the email shown above says:
January prize draw: Win a MacBook Pro
A MacBook Pro with a Core i5 processor would have substantially better performance than the Core 2 Duo-based model, while not reducing battery life. While no date has been announced by Apple for the release of a new MacBook Pro, there's a possibility that such a device could be announced at the rumored January 27th media event.
Increase sales this month and have two opportunities to win a MacBook Pro equipped with the accelerated response offered by the Intel Core i5 processor.
[via The Mac Observer]TUAWRumor: Intel's Core i5 to show up in MacBook Pros this month originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Evernote's CEO: 5k new users a day, but retention is a problem
Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, Developer, iPhone
Mashable's Ben Parr sat down at CES with Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote, which is not only a TUAW favorite, but acts as your "external brain," saving little clips and bits of information both collectible from and accessible by any device you happen to have with you. We love the app, and while it isn't a Mac exclusive, there are both Mac and iPhone versions, and apparently they're doing very well. Libin tells us in the video that not only are they picking up five thousand users a day (!), but over half of their two million users are using the iPhone app [iTunes link]. As Libin says, the app is "very good" -- it's easy to use (and free), the iPhone's camera makes picking up even real-life scraps of information super easy, and Evernote is designed to share information back to your Mac. Libin says that "most" of the iPhone users do access their information back on other PCs.
Libin also talks about power users of the service -- there's one in the system that has over 80,000 notes, though due to privacy, Libin doesn't share what they're keeping in there. And apparently one issue they're dealing with is retention, even for people who have used the service. I can identify with that -- while Evernote is a great service, it's tough to remember that you can use it to remember things, and for that reason I think that even with two million users, it's still very underrated. Libin sounds like he's on top of things, though -- he promises that they're always working on not only helping users figure out how to use the service, but also in polishing it and making it even easier and simpler.TUAWEvernote's CEO: 5k new users a day, but retention is a problem originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Game Developers' Conference to include iPhone Games Summit track
Filed under: Gaming, Other Events, iPhone
Macworld reports that the 2010 Game Developers' Conference will include an 8-class track on iPhone games. The iPhone Games Summit, which takes place over two days, replaces an older format where panels on the iPhone were mixed in with those on gaming for other mobile platforms or independent development.
Classes appear to be aimed toward niche development ("A Big Dash of Success: How to Capture the Female iPhone Gamer") and utilizing social networking and multiplayer capabilities for iPhone games. The two most interesting classes to me is a case study of one company's year in the App Store and a class aimed at covering the finer points of the iPhone contract. Given that this is their first year, it'll be interesting to see how these are attended and what changes they make next time around as well.
The Game Developers' Conference will be held March 9-13 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.TUAWGame Developers' Conference to include iPhone Games Summit track originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Phishing schemes targeting MobileMe users again
Filed under: Odds and ends, MobileMe
Be very careful if you get an email from Apple telling you they need to re-check your credit card information. One of our readers got just such an email, and he didn't fall for it.
This particular rip-off comes from an 'Apple-bills.com' domain, which has nothing to do with Apple. They'll be glad to take your credit card info, and give you a big surprise when you get your next billing statement.
An Apple representative confirmed that the email is not from Apple. They also suggest you send copies of the email and relevant details to spam@me.com if you get one.
This isn't the first time this scam has gone after MobileMe users. We reported on some MobileMe scams in May. In February another scam site was telling people their MobileMe renewal was not received and to do it again. Back in 2008, ComputerWorld reported on another phony scheme that fleeced about 200 MobileMe customers in a single day. It's probably a good idea to not click on links in emails that ask for financial or credit card information, and it is easy to check with any vendor to see if the request is legitimate.
If you ever have questions about a MobileMe renewal, you can go to: www.apple.com/support/mobileme/ and do a live chat with an Apple support agent. Also, don't update from an email. Log into your account and update there.
Just before posting this I tried the link our reader sent. The first time I clicked I saw the fake Apple page. Now there is an error page there instead.
Thanks to Asif for the tip.
TUAWPhishing schemes targeting MobileMe users again originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Rumor: Apple tablet said to be "iPhone on steroids"
If there's anything consistently consistent about the purported Apple tablet, it's that it's said to be, in essence, a larger iPhone. Expanding on this, Boy Genius Report cites its "close Apple contact" that claims the device is "an iPhone on steroids."
Like its iPhone brethren, the tablet is said to sport an ARM processor, adding the caveat that the processor will be "incredibly fast." Also according to the report, the tablet will support multi-touch gestures that are said to be "out of control." Back in 2005, Apple acquired FingerWorks, a company that specialized in gesture-based computing. According to former Apple engineers, FingerWorks will have its footprint -- er, fingerprints -- on the purported tablet.
The meat behind these potatoes is said to be the iPhone OS kernel. For this reason, there hasn't been an updated build of the iPhone OS out of fears that tablet-related references in the code would leak.
TUAWRumor: Apple tablet said to be "iPhone on steroids" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Found Footage: LEGO steering wheel for the iPhone
Filed under: Found Footage, iPhone
You can make an iPhone dock out of LEGOs, so why not a steering wheel? Check out the above video to see the LEGO-built steering wheel in action. And, if you can't get enough of LEGOs on your iPhone, give LEGO Photo [iTunes link] and LEGO Batman: Gotham City Games [iTunes link] a try.
[Via Cult of Mac]TUAWFound Footage: LEGO steering wheel for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Join us this afternoon at 5 PM ET for TUAW TV Live
Filed under: Video, Odds and ends
It's Wednesday, which can mean only one thing -- it's time for another hour of fun with TUAW TV Live!
Our midweek adventure into everything about Apple starts at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT) here at TUAW. To join in on the fun, just come on back to the site a couple of minutes before the start of the show. We'll have a post available with a Ustream viewer screen and a chat tool. At 5 PM, the show goes live, and you can use the chat tool to comment, ask questions, and otherwise just join in on the fun.
If you haven't watched TUAW TV Live yet, this is your chance. Today's discussion will include an iPhone accessory you can stand on, rumors about the next generation iPhone's features and release date, joy in app developer land, and a subwoofer for your MacBook. Of course, it will also include any topics viewers are interested in pursuing.
See you at 5 PM ET!TUAWJoin us this afternoon at 5 PM ET for TUAW TV Live originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Going to Macworld Expo 2010? Join our community for updates and news
Filed under: Macworld, TUAW Business
For the past several years, IDG World Expo has created a community on Ning for Macworld Expo. You can join up and follow various bloggers and companies, and now TUAW has a group page for the show.
To join the group, just head over to http://macworldexpo.ning.com/group/tuaw. You can participate in our Macworld Expo discussion, find out where TUAW bloggers will be at the show, and even find out about possible meetups in San Francisco during Macworld.
It's all free, and we'd love to have you join in on the fun. If you already have a login for the Macworld 2010 site, simply ask to be added to the group. For those who don't have a login, you can sign up by clicking the appropriate Sign Up link on the right side of the page.TUAWGoing to Macworld Expo 2010? Join our community for updates and news originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Zimbra and VMWare get married, cloud-shaped kids expected
Filed under: Enterprise, Software
In the world of Mac email and collaboration servers, there are some big names -- Apple (of course, with Mac OS X Server's mail and calendaring features), Kerio, and Zimbra. Zimbra Collaboration Suite is a popular and powerful email server and shared calendar for Linux and Mac OS X. The features of ZCS rival and in most cases surpass those of Microsoft Exchange, and did I mention that it runs on Macs?
VMWare announced on Tuesday that they are acquiring Zimbra from Yahoo! Inc. The maker of the popular VMWare Fusion virtualization software for Mac OS X, VMWare has been moving in the direction of providing cloud solutions, and the acquisition of Zimbra fits those plans perfectly.
According to Brian Byun, VP and General Manager of Cloud Services for VMware, "Zimbra is a great example of the type of scalable 'cloud era' solutions that can span smaller, on-premise implementations to the cloud. It will be a building block in an expanding portfolio of solutions that can be offered as a virtual appliance or by a cloud service provider. We are excited to welcome the Zimbra team and community to the VMware family."
The press releases from both companies note that the free Open Source Edition of Zimbra Collaboration Suite will continue being developed in the future.TUAWZimbra and VMWare get married, cloud-shaped kids expected originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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