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- Why is there a progress bar when my Mac is starting up?
Filed under: Odds and ends, TUAW Tips
Here's a story for anyone who's come across an unusual progress bar during boot and my best guess at what it really is. The moral of my story: backup frequently and try not to turn off your Mac while it is starting up.
Five days ago, I was prepping my late 2008 MacBook Pro for resale when I encountered the ever-spinning gear at boot. Ridiculously enough, I hadn't kept up any of my backups in a month and I hard powered off the machine while it was booting because I forgot to select the boot drive (yes -- I'm a technician and I did something dumb -- I know). Many thoughts went through my head: I've lost the last month's worth of work, I have to waste hours trying to recover data from my drive, why did this have to happen while I was trying to back it up? It goes to show that it can happen to anyone at any time and that the only real solution is to keep a current backup (if not several) of all your information.
Now for a quick word on backups. I usually keep a continuous Time Machine backup of everything and clone my internal drive every couple weeks. The cloned drive is kept in a fireproof safe here in my house. Also, as much as I love Time Machine, in my profession, I've seen several instances where Time Machine backups don't restore properly. I always suggest having a manual clone as a backup to your backup.
So, I didn't have a good backup, my clone was old and now my computer wouldn't boot into the operating system -- it just hung at the spinning gear. As any technician would, I booted to my diagnostic drive and tried to repair the disk with Disk Utility. Repair failed! After being told that Disk Utility couldn't fix my drive and that I would have to restore my computer from a backup, I was pretty frustrated. I restarted the machine and went to get a drink. 5 minutes later, I'm back to the computer and I see a progress bar at the bottom of the screen. It took 20 minutes, but after it was done, the machine loaded back to my desktop and life was good again. Impressive.
Until the introduction of Snow Leopard, I would have ran Disk Warrior or "archive and install" the operating system in hopes to fix the software issue, but this automated solution was relatively painless and built into the OS. I began looking for an explanation of what it's doing during that progress bar, but didn't find much. What I read were incorrect guesses about firmware. While firmware updates use a similar progress bar, my situation had nothing to do with firmware but software corruption that it appeared to fix on its own. TUAW's Joachim Bean noticed this support article show up on Apple's website today but it's still very vague on details. In fact, it just tells you what it is and why it appears, but not what it's doing. Obviously something is fixing the software corruption I caused by killing the machine mid-boot. Why can this startup procedure fix it when Disk Utility's repair disk function could not?
So, what can my experience pass on to the Mac newbies in the audience? Don't turn off your computer mid-boot and never skimp on your backup. If you find yourself in a situation where the progress bar shows up during boot, stay the course and let it finish. In the support article, it says it's possible that you may encounter this every time you boot -- in that instance, you probably have a hardware issue. If it only appears once, don't fret but instead make sure you have a good backup in case something goes awry. When in doubt, consult with your local Genius Bar or Apple Authorized Service Provider.
***Update: As several of our awesome commenters pointed out, the OS is probably running fsck in the background while showing the progress bar to the end-user. Here's an older Apple support article that explains the disk repair process very well. We will update you if we find a support article with more information.TUAWWhy is there a progress bar when my Mac is starting up? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Time Machine - Operating system - Apple - Disk Utility - Macintosh
Переслать - Fake Steve Jobs: "Stand down!"
Filed under: iPhone
Wow. What a roller coaster ride! First, Fake Steve Jobs ordered Operation Chokehold. Then AT&T struck back. That's right around the time when a group of rebels joined the battle with Operation Cuckoo. Now, the original mastermind is telling everyone to stand down:
He goes on to list several alternate ideas including:"I really don't want to cause any actual harm to my fellow AT&T users. Quite the opposite - I feel as if we're all caught in the same horrible prison, suffering alongside one another. The point is, I'm not sure we can stop this thing."
Chickening out or being responsible? That's your call. Let us know in the comments!"Another idea and perhaps the best one: Let's form actual flash mobs outside AT&T stores and put duct tape over their mouths. Anyone up for this? Like, in San Francisco? The media is already all over this protest. They're loving it. They know how badly AT&T sucks and apparently they want to join us in our struggle. So making this into a physical demonstration is the best way to ratchet it up another notch."
Via iPhoneSaviorTUAWFake Steve Jobs: "Stand down!" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Digital RAW Compatibility Update 2.7 available in Software Update
Filed under: iLife, Software, Software Update, Apple
Apple today released a new digital RAW compatibility update for some Canon and Nikon cameras that shoot photos in RAW format.
This update extends RAW image compatibility for Aperture 2, iPhoto '08 and iPhoto '09 for the following cameras:
- Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
- Canon EOS 7D
- Canon PowerShot G11
- Nikon D3S
- Nikon D300S
- Nikon D3000
If you have one of these cameras, you should check out this update to work with your photos shot in RAW format with any of these applications. As always, this update is available through Software Update, but it doesn't seem to be posted anywhere on apple.com yet.TUAWDigital RAW Compatibility Update 2.7 available in Software Update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple requiring the HTTP live stream protocol for iPhone apps
Filed under: Video, iPhone, SDK, iPod touch
Amidst all of Apple's recent app non-rejections and changes to allow APIs that were private, it was announced earlier this week that the company is now requiring developers of apps that implement live streaming video to use the HTTP Live Stream protocol.
The HTTP Live Stream protocol uses web standards to implement video, and also allows for use of iPhone-friendly formats like H.264 encoded streams for QuickTime (supported on the iPhone since iPhone OS 3.0).
This change also requires developers to create a minimum stream of video no larger than 64kbps, for use with slower connections.
It's still not known if this will have any impact on AT&T's position on streaming video over a 3G connection, but developers are still trying to find ways to work around Apple's restrictions. One example is the EyeTV update that was released earlier today, which works via Mobile Safari to stream video over a 3G connection.TUAWApple requiring the HTTP live stream protocol for iPhone apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - A bevy of iPhone and iPod accessories
Filed under: Accessories, iPod Family, iPhone, iPod touch
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Texthook holder puts your phone where it belongs: between you and your progeny
Finally, proper protection for your baby. The child, too.
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JVC gets tubular with XS-SR3 iPod speaker dock
Not that we haven't seen an elongated iPod sound system before, but we've definitely yet to see one as totally bodacious as this. JVC has just slung out its XS-SR3 iPod speaker dock...
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WowWee Cinemin Swivel iPod and iPhone pico projector review
Finally, WowWee took a break from robotics to give us the answer with its foldable Cinemin Swivel pico projector: for watching videos on the ceiling while lying in bed, obviously.
Also of interest:
As seen on Engadget.TUAWA bevy of iPhone and iPod accessories originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать -
- MacUpdate bundle on sale now
Filed under: Software, Deals, Holidays
MacUpdate, one of my favorite websites for keeping up on Macintosh software, has taken eleven applications and rolled them up into one convenient package they like to call the Holiday Bundle. This is the third year they are offering such a deal. Total price individually of all these programs is $446.77, but in the bundle you get them all for the low low price of $49.95.
But wait! There's more!
If you are one of the first 10,000 to buy this bundle you get three additional programs for free! That's right, absolutely free! All you have to do is be one of the first 10,000 to purchase! Call now!
Sorry. I have watched a lot of daytime television lately. I couldn't help myself.
Much has been made of the "bundle" concept by developers. Some are against, saying that losing money selling software isn't the soundest of business decisions, and some are for, claiming the exposure is a benefit since there's not a computer software version of the store Apple has for that phone they make.
Here are the bits of the bundle that got my attention:
Path Finder (retail: $39.95) - Virtually replaces the Finder on your Mac. Just the bits I saw in the promo video had me reaching for my Visa. If I get one program this great and then I also get all these others too? Sign me up!
DragThing (retail: $29) - Fantastic launcher-slash-Dock utility. It looks pretty flexible and with the different tabs and options I think this would save me time by the truckload (if you could measure time in truckloads).
Yep (retail: $39) - Document management. I have needed this for so long. If nothing else I should get this just so I can wrangle my Documents folder once and for all. Tags for files is an idea whose time has come.
Radio Gaga (retail: $39.99) - You can listen to and record LOADS of Internet radio stations. Did I say record? Oh yes. Quit missing shows you like, and time-shift them. This is TiVo for Internet radio. (Our own Brett Terpstra found it lovely)
Keep in mind there are seven other programs that are part of this bundle, and it seems like a pretty good deal just on these four. If you need to streamline your workflow, play a few games, or just want to keep in touch with your social networks, there's at least one program for that in the MacUpdate Holiday Promo. Pro Tip: Got a Mac friend or recent switcher you think could use the help? Get a bundle for them too!TUAWMacUpdate bundle on sale now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Most popular free Mac apps of 2009
Filed under: Software, Freeware
Lifehacker has put together their list of the 15 Most Popular Free Mac Apps of 2009. Keep in mind, these are Mac OS X apps, not iPhone apps. The list is based on the popularity of apps they've covered in 2009 and don't represent total download numbers.
Here are some of their choices (in no specific order):
- Magnifique
- Picasa for Mac
- Pollux
- doubleTwist
- Thunderbird
- Google Chrome
- PwnageTool/QuickPwn
- Namebench
- Quicksilver
- Glims
TUAWMost popular free Mac apps of 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Magnifique
- Recycle that contract-free iPhone as a holiday gift
Filed under: iPhone
We're sure this will be a hit for the holiday season: Apple recently updated one of the iPhone support articles, explaining how you can continue using an iPhone as a quasi-iPod touch, if you no longer have a cellphone contract with your carrier. Let's give an example:
Your iPhone 3G contract was eligible for the upgrade pricing not too long ago, so you purchased an iPhone 3GS. You have your old iPhone 3G lying around the house with no purpose. Obviously, you could try and sell it... but maybe your child has been begging you for an iPod touch for Christmas. Apple wants to see these devices be re-used and not thrown into the trash, so they've outlined how to activate your iPhone (1st gen, 3G or 3GS) in the article.
It all boils down to this: never get rid of your SIM card. For the iPhone 1st generation, you have to keep the original SIM card in place at all times. Without this, it will not activate in the next software update. The iPhone 3G and 3GS do not need a SIM card installed for day-to-day use. However, you still need a SIM card for the required activation after a software update.
This differs a bit from the iPhone 1st generation: with the iPhone 3G and 3GS you can use any SIM card from your authorized carrier. Either way, it's silly not to leave the SIM card in each generation of iPhone as long as you don't need the SIM card for your new phone. Now you won't get stuck at the "Connect to iTunes" screen forever.TUAWRecycle that contract-free iPhone as a holiday gift originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Swedish developers vie for Steve Jobs's attention
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Software, Odds and ends, App Store
The App Store approval process has been criticized, in part, for being too slow with approval decisions. Apple's senior vice-president of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller recently defended the process, saying, "You and your family and friends can download applications from the store, and for the most part they do what you'd expect, and they get onto your phone, and you get billed appropriately, and it all just works." That's all well and good, but most developers just want to get their app out. To that end, a group in Sweden is trying something unique.
Dearstevejobs.com was built to win Steve's attention and ultimately approval for an app called SVT Play. SVT is a public television broadcaster, and SVT Play is their shows' home on the web (think Hulu). The iPhone app works as you'd imagine: With a few clicks, users can watch popular shows right on their iPhones.
The promotional site is cute with live streaming video of eager developers, Facebook and Twitter integration plus an opportunity for Steve to use his Mac's built-in iSight to record a quick video of himself saying, "Ja!" Good luck, SVT!
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
TUAWSwedish developers vie for Steve Jobs's attention originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dozen Daily Deals for December 16, 2009
Filed under: Deals
'Tis the season shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy!
- iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] App Store Freebies: bitFlip, Plane Sight, Money Tracker, 7 Cities, more
- Facebook.com: [MP3 Downloads] iTunes Starbucks MP3 Sampler for free
- All-Battery: [Rechargeable Batteries] All-Battery.com Sale: Up to 80% off + 15% off $10
- Shop4Tech: [Store Events] Shop4tech.com coupon: 15% off no minimum
- Apple Store: [Mac Pro] Refurbished Apple Mac Pro Xeon Workstations from $2,149 + free shipping
- ThingFling: [iPod Accessories] DLO HomeDock Deluxe iPod Dock for $20 + $6 s&h
- Small Dog Electronics: [Headphones] 50% off Skullcandy headphones at SmallDog.com: Deals from $13 + $8 s&h
- Western Digital Store: [USB Hard Drives] Refurbished Western Digital External Hard Drives from $40 + free shipping
- Buy.com: [Flat-Panel/LCDs] iMo 7" USB Sub-Monitor for $100 + free shipping
- Dell Small Business: [USB Hard Drives] Western Digital 1.5TB USB 2.0 Hard Drive for $100 + free shipping
- Dell Small Business: [Networkable Hard Drive (NAS)] Iomega 1TB Home Media External NAS Hard Drive for $115 + free shipping
- 6pm: [iPod Accessories] 60% to 67% off Skullcandy headphones at 6pm.com: Deals from $10 + $7 s&h
TUAWDozen Daily Deals for December 16, 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Bada Bing! Microsoft delivers Bing search app
Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review
Search is really getting interesting these days. Microsoft late last night released Bing [iTunes link] for the iPhone -- a full featured free app offering search, movies, maps, and directions, all with voice control.
It's notable that Microsoft is going after iPhone mind-share after Steve Ballmer famously dissed the iPhone more than 2 years ago. He's had to sit back and watch the iPhone eclipse Windows Mobile phones in the marketplace, which can't be pleasant, but business is business, and Microsoft is pushing the Bing search suite of tools hard.
After spending some time with it last night and this morning, I can say that it works pretty well. I think on-screen it is more attractive than the Google Mobile app offering [iTunes link] and the voice control is about as accurate.
On the Bing home screen there are direct links to images, movies, maps, businesses, news and directions. It inverts the Google method, where you do a search, then select, for example, images. I think I prefer the Bing hierarchy as being more logical.
The voice search isn't perfect. It especially had trouble with addresses. You can use Bing, as you can Google Maps, as a low end navigation app, but of course no voice directions as yet.
Some of the icons, like back and forward seem a bit too close together, but the icons are serviceable. Like Google, you can search for a business, then click to dial it directly, get directions, or read reviews. Business categories are well thought out, and easy to navigate.
You can access an iPhone friendly version of Bing from Safari on the iPhone, but of course there is no voice input and it is more cumbersome to use, so I think having an app makes sense.
For free, there is no reason not to download Bing and see if you like it. I'm hoping Microsoft will aggressively update the app, and continue to add features. I think if you grab it, you'll use it. Bing requires an iPhone and iPod touch with iPhone OS 3.0 or later.
TUAWBada Bing! Microsoft delivers Bing search app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - EyeTV now offers HTTP Live Video streaming over 3G via Safari
Tired of restrictions about what you can and cannot stream over 3G connections? Elgato, the makers of EyeTV, have introduced a novel solution for their many customers to access live and recorded TV shows using an iPhone and a 3G connection. Their new Live3G web site provides a web app solution for remote video access.
The website uses HTTP live streaming to deliver high quality video to the iPhone's Mobile Safari app. Powered by the EyeTV 3.3 update (free to existing owners of EyeTV software), this technology avoids App Store hassles while providing on-demand video access to your home TV recordings and live programming.
As an added bonus, since Mobile Safari has access to the iPhone's TV Out capability (third-party apps can't use it, but Apple apps can), you can use a component or composite video-out cable to display your streamed video on any convenient TV.
If you're worried about other people gaining access to your library of "Dora The Explorer" episodes, or to personal videos you have digitized using an EyeTV box like the 250 plus, don't. You must authenticate yourself with your My EyeTV credentials before being granted access to any library.
The EyeTV update and web site are live now.TUAWEyeTV now offers HTTP Live Video streaming over 3G via Safari originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW gift guide: Griffin eXport In-Flight Video Cable
Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, iPhone, Holidays, iPod touch
You've loaded a movie and a few episodes of "The Office" on your iPhone or iPod touch to keep you company as you fly this holiday. The only problem is that, while quite lovely, the iPhone's screen is not meant for watching The Bourne Identity in earnest. If only you could connect it to the monitor on the back of the seat in front of you.
As if they've heard your pleas, the folks at Griffin have produced the eXport In-Flight Video Cable. It connects with the in-flight entertainment system that a growing number of airlines have begun using. Once connected, you can watch video and listen to music while charging your iPhone or iPod. The cable is 3 feet long and connects with a 30-pin Dock Connector to 9-pin IFES (9-pin Mini-DIN). Just remember to enable Airplane Mode, lest an Air Marshall wrestle you to the ground.
No more suffering through 6 episodes of 30 Minute Meals! The Griffin eXport In-Flight Video Cable for iPod and iPhone costs $39.95US and makes a great gift for the frequent flyer on your list. Look here for compatible devices.TUAWTUAW gift guide: Griffin eXport In-Flight Video Cable originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Operation Cuckoo to oppose Operation Chokehold
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Portables, Internet Tools, iPhone
In what sounds like the title of the worst Bruce Willis movie ever, a group of pro-AT&T Facebook users are up in arms about Operation Chokehold.
Let's start from the beginning. Earlier this week, AT&T's chief executive of Mobility, Ralph de la Vega stated that he wants iPhone users to limit their data usage. Customers became literally furious with rage and, encouraged by Fake Steve Jobs, vowed to do the polar opposite: simultaneously run the most data-hungry apps on Friday, December 18th. Thus, Operation Chokehold was born. There's even a Facebook event for it.
Now, some other Facebook users with Stockholm Syndrome have formed a counter-group called Operation Cuckoo. From their manifesto:
"... you don't urge AT&T to improve its network and terms by attempting to bring it down or violating your contract with the entity. Much the same as you don't put out a fire with a gasoline shower."
Yes, Fake Steve's little stunt is childish and in all likelihood not to be taken seriously (though AT&T is not amused). But if my own iPhone is rendered AT&T-free on Friday because of this bit of nonsense, I'll be pissed.
[Via iPhone Savior]TUAWOperation Cuckoo to oppose Operation Chokehold originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - 'Christmas in Cupertino': because there isn't enough weird stuff on the web
Filed under: Humor, Steve Jobs, Holidays
You guys know I love combining Christmas and my Mac, but this is just plain weird. A Dutch Apple community website by the name of One More Thing has written and produced a Christmas song called 'Christmas in Cupertino'.
The song was composed and recorded in two weeks with the 'famous Dutch singers' Sjarrel & Sjaan delivering the vocals. The song focuses on Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller in their activities in Cupertino in the 'dark days' before Christmas and ... pictures them 'dancing 'round the Apple tree'. If that's not weird enough for you, Steve Jobs's liver transplant is also mentioned. What's even crazier is that you can buy it on iTunes.
In fairness, due to Steve Jobs' call for more attention to organ donation at his keynote earlier this year, One More Thing will donate all proceeds from the song to de Dutch Liver Foundaction.
Netherlands, I've been to your country many times. It's so quaint, so charming, so full of life; and what can I say? This quirkiness/oddness just makes me love you guys even more. And, though I'm loathe to admit it, the song is kinda catchy.
So TUAW readers, for 99 cents why not buy the song [iTunes link], have a good laugh, and contribute to a great cause? Now, without further ado, I present to you the 'Christmas in Cupertino' music video (with subtitles).
Christmas in Cupertino from One More Thing on Vimeo.
TUAW'Christmas in Cupertino': because there isn't enough weird stuff on the web originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - "Apple has a two or three-year lead" in mobile internet domination
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Internet, Apple, iPhone, iPod touch
Philip Elmer-DeWitt has an excellent article over at Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog on Morgan Stanley's The Mobile Internet seminar. The article is full of juicy tidbits, but here is the main course:
Another interesting tidbit that DeWitt spotlights is a diagram that compares Facebook's 350,000 apps and 137% year-over-year growth with the iPhone's 100,000 apps and 163% growth. As DeWitt points out, "The place where Mark Zuckerberg's 430 million users overlap with Steve Jobs' 57 million is the sweet spot of the mobile Internet. It's here, according to Morgan Stanley, where we find the future of computing."Based on past performance, according to Morgan Stanley, Apple is in the "pole position" in the race to dominate mobile Internet computing, which is supposed to be for the 2000s what desktop Internet computing was for the 1990s, personal computing for the 1980s, mini computing for the 1970s, and mainframe computing for the 1960s.
"Apple has a two or three-year lead" according to Katy Huberty, thanks to an installed base of 57 million handsets, 100,000 apps and 200 million iTunes subscribers with credit card numbers on file.
Be sure to check out DeWitt's article, as it's a great read, but if you want to delve deeper, you can check out the 92 slides of the Morgan Stanley presentation, the 659-slide "key themes" presentation, and the massive 424-page Mobile Internet Report, all in PDF format.TUAW"Apple has a two or three-year lead" in mobile internet domination originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Outnumbered presents an interesting twist on iPhone multiplayer
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Veiled Games sent word of their new game, Outnumbered [iTunes link], on the iPhone app store, and it seems intriguingly different. It's basically a multiplayer arcade game, which pits two iPhones or iPod touches against each other via Bluetooth. One player takes over the role of the O.N.E., a singular robot armed with weapons and special attacks, and the other player controls M.A.N.Y., which is a top-down view where you can control waves of attacking units and robots. The two players duke it out, with the first controlling his robot around the arena, and the second overseeing the armies and buying new units with collected currency. When the single robot is dead, players switch sides, and whoever earns the most points while fighting (for attacking, moving, or a few other criteria) wins the game.
Interesting idea. Of course, you'll need a friend with their own iPhone or iPod touch to do all of this, and you'll have to be in the same room, as the connection only works (so far) over Bluetooth. If you're still confused as to how it all works, there's a nice tutorial video up (although that voice gets to be a bit much after a while) that explains how the game goes down. Most of the big iPhone titles we've seen this year mostly focus on single player gaming, so it's cool to see an attempt like this to try something that more than one player can share. Outnumbered is available in the App Store [iTunes Link] right now for 99 cents, and a lite version (that will allow a second player to play along, although one of the two players must own the full version) is due out soon.TUAWOutnumbered presents an interesting twist on iPhone multiplayer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple updates MobileMe iDisk app for iPhone
Filed under: Internet, Internet Tools, iPhone, MobileMe, App Store
Apple has updated its MobileMe iDisk app [iTunes link]. Besides a new (much cooler) icon, version 1.1 features:
- Auto-complete email addresses when choosing recipients for a shared file
- File sharing emails are automatically saved to your Mail account's Sent folder
- When viewing an image, tap and hold to save it to your photo roll or copy it to another app
- Maximum setting for cache size is now 500MB (up from 200MB)
- Faster downloads
- Various bug fixes
- Localizations for Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
TUAWApple updates MobileMe iDisk app for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - UPDATE: AT&T "unimpressed" with "irresponsible" Operation Chokehold
Filed under: iPhone
I posted earlier today about Fake Steve Jobs' Operation Chokehold.
Well, AT&T has just told Cult of Mac they're not impressed:
"We understand that fakesteve.net is primarily a satirical forum, but there is nothing amusing about advocating that customers attempt to deliberately degrade service on a network that provides critical communications services for more than 80 million customers. We know that the vast majority of customers will see this action for what it is: an irresponsible and pointless scheme to draw attention to a blog."
So, the battle lines are drawn. Where do you stand?
TUAWUPDATE: AT&T "unimpressed" with "irresponsible" Operation Chokehold originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - So long, Psystar - permanent injunction halts Mac clone biz
Filed under: Apple Corporate
What ride, eh? In what may have provided more blog fodder than a golfer hitting a tree, the end may have finally come for the storiedlife of Pystar's Mac clone business. AppleInsider, Gizmodo and The Loop are reporting U.S. District Judge William Alsup just put the smackdown on Psystar's selling of derivative works of OS X, doing anything to circumvent several things -- all of which wind up putting OS X on your non-Apple hardware. Still no ruling on the Rebel EFI software.
Bottom line: Psystar has until December 31, 2009 to stop selling Mac clones forever. Word is they have already started to comply.TUAWSo long, Psystar - permanent injunction halts Mac clone biz originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Developers now can use private API for screen capture on iPhone, says Apple
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, SDK, iPod touch, Jailbreak/pwnage
As Apple seems to be lightening up and accepting more applications using private APIs (including Ustream and others that stream video from the iPhone 3G), word comes that the review team is now officially allowing the UIGetScreenImage() function to be used in applications distributed in the App Store.
An Apple forum moderator stated in the developer forums:
Apple also states "that a future release of iPhone OS may provide a public API equivalent of this functionality." It's also noted that "At such time, all applications using UIGetScreenImage() will be required to adopt the public API.""After carefully considering the issue, Apple is now allowing applications to use the function UIGetScreenImage() to programmatically capture the current screen contents." The function prototype is as follows:
CGImageRef UIGetScreenImage();
This function, which is a part of the Core Graphics framework, allows an application access to what's being currently being displayed on the screen. It's useful for things like capturing a screen shot, as our own Erica Sadun's BETAkit does to allow developers to send screen shots to a developer. It also allows streaming video from the iPhone camera, as an application like this captures what's being displayed on the screen from the camera, and records it or sends it somewhere.
What other features devs are hoping to see opened up? There's things like general calendar access, Core Surface, and XMPP and app-settable timers that developers would like to take advantage of in their SDK apps.
I hope this is a sign of what's to come for the iPhone SDK, and that we'll see more things like this opened up soon for App Store distribution.
[via the Apple Developer Forums, dev membership required]TUAWDevelopers now can use private API for screen capture on iPhone, says Apple originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dragon Age: Origins coming to Mac as a digital download December 21st
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Odds and ends
Gamepro's got the news that Electronic Arts is fast-tracking Dragon Age: Origins for release on the Mac -- they're now saying that it'll be out as a download as soon as next week, on December 21st. I've been playing the game on PC (it came out for both PC and consoles in November), and it is excellent -- an instant Bioware classic, and definitely the best roleplaying game of the year, especially if you enjoy good Baldur's Gate-style epic. Of course, you can pick up the PC version right now and play it in Boot Camp, but given that we've been needling developers to hurry up with their Mac versions, we have to give EA credit for this one. A month late is much better than, say, a few years late.
We'll also point out that this version will use Transgaming's Cider wrapper technology for the port, and they don't exactly have the best track record for quality Mac releases. But again, an A for effort on the release date. If you want to play it natively on the Mac, you'll be able to buy the game in either standard or deluxe versions, with the deluxe including extra bonus content and the "Warden's Keep" downloadable content pack (both versions come with the "Stone Prisoner" pack already, and the content packs open up more quests and items in the game itself). December 21st is the listed date: look for a link on their website then.TUAWDragon Age: Origins coming to Mac as a digital download December 21st originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Airlock automatically locks and unlocks your Mac using your iPhone or iPod touch
Filed under: Odds and ends
Like many people reading this article, I spend my day with my iPhone in my pocket. When I leave my office, I don't have to think about bringing my iPhone with me, it's already with me. Now if I step out of my office for more than a few seconds, my MacBook Pro automatically locks itself, and when I return, it automatically unlocks itself.
I work in a busy office. Occasionally a coworker will call or knock on my door and ask for my help with something, and the two of us will go to wherever I am needed. Most of them time I get back to my office and realize that I have left my MacBook Pro unlocked. To solve this, I've tried various things: setting a "hot corner" to trigger my screensaver, which requires my password be typed, or manually switching to the login window. (Many Windows users are used to hitting the Windows key plus "L" to temporarily "logout" but Mac OS X doesn't have an equivalent feature built-in, although there are some possible work-arounds.)
The biggest problem with all of those solutions? They require me to remember to do something. Which I usually forget to do.
Enter Airlock, a preference panel which will automatically lock and unlock your Mac when it senses that your iPhone (or iPod touch) is nearby.
That might sound like magic, but it isn't, it's Bluetooth. Once your iPhone is "paired" with Airlock, it will periodically check to see if the iPhone is still "in range" (which you can adjust, using the slider shown above). That's it. You don't need to run any software on your iPhone.
I've been using Airlock for about a week, and think it is pretty much the perfect balance between security and convenience. There is even a manual login option which lets you bypass Airlock using your regular login password (handy in case your iPhone battery dies or you need to use your computer without your iPhone around, possibly because your 7 year-old son has absconded with it to play Super Monkey Ball 2 again).
Airlock will let you automatically open applications when you come into range or go out of range. The functionality is a little limited at the moment - for example, I'd like a way to automatically set my iChat status as "away" when I'm gone and "available" when I'm back. That can be accomplished if you know how to write AppleScript, but it seems like an obvious feature to build in. There are other possible uses for this I can imagine: telling Mail.app to check for mail as soon as I get back, or telling NetNewsWire to resume downloading when I walk out of the room and pause it when I get back, so it will do those functions when my computer is otherwise idle. Again, if those things are possible it would require you to know how to code them in AppleScript.
Airlock will also only "pair" with one device at a time, which can cause problems if several people use the same Mac. For example, if I lock my iMac at home with my iPhone using Airlock and my wife wants to use it, she needs to have my account password, or else she can't get into the computer (there is no way for her to access the regular login panel, which would be another big feature request). However, for the usual use-case of one person and one Mac at an office, Airlock works great.
The webpage also warns that "due to a bug in Mac OS X, Airlock may not be compatible with computers that use wireless keyboards or mice." You can use Airlock for up to three hours without registering, which I would encourage everyone to do. (You can quit it and relaunch it for another three hours also.)
Airlock also recommends making the "activation range slightly larger than it appears necessary." Wireless signal strength isn't an exact science, and interference is possible. I found that sitting across the room from my iMac at home I was much more likely to run into interference than sitting next to my MacBook Pro at my desk at the office.
The dot shows you where your iPhone is located in proximity to Airlock. You can also adjust how often Airlock checks for your iPhone's presence. Checking more often will secure your Mac faster, but will increase the drain on your iPhone battery. There is a slider available to change between "better battery life" and "more responsive."
Fellow TUAW-er Brett Terpstra suggested that "do it yourself" folks might be able to mimic this behavior using RedHand (€ 1.49) and Proximity (free) but added "I found absolutely no method of Bluetooth proximity detection that didn't occasionally boot me out to a lock screen at least once every few hours when I (and my fully-charged, often docked, iPhone) were sitting right next to it." While I was writing this article with my iPhone charging and hooked to my MacBook Pro, Airlock locked me out once. I toggled Bluetooth on my iPhone off/on and Airlock unlocked.
It's not foolproof, but Airlock is one of those great little gems which solves a problem simply and easily, making life a little easier. I hope to see a few improvements (and hope that Mac OS X bug gets fixed for those who use wireless keyboards and mice) but for me it was money I was happy to spend for a little convenience, and so far the "false positives" haven't happened often enough to bother me, especially since I'm not having to log into my MacBook Pro all day long.
Airlock licenses are US$7.77 which allows you to use Airlock on up to three Macs. As mentioned above, you can download and test it for free for up to three hours per launch.TUAWAirlock automatically locks and unlocks your Mac using your iPhone or iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Chrome makes Safari take a back seat
Filed under: Software, Internet, Internet Tools, Apple
ComputerWorld is reporting that Chrome has surpassed Safari as the third-most popular browser.
According to Net Applications, which tracks the browser habits of 160 million unique visitors each month to the 40,000 sites it monitors for customers, Chrome's share jumped to 4.4% for the week of Dec. 6-12, an increase of 0.4 percentage points over Google's slice of the browser pie for the month of November.
Chrome's share during the week topped Safari's 4.37%, said Vince Vizzaccaro, executive vice president of Net Applications. "It appears that Chrome has made a substantial surge in usage market share," Vizzaccaro said in an e-mail.
Not surprising considering how much Google is pushing it. In the last two days I've seen dozens of Chrome ads on Facebook and (more surprisingly) the Amazon.co.uk home page.
Chrome is based on WebKit - an open source web browser engine. WebKit is also the name of the Mac OS X system framework version of the WebKit browser engine that's used by Safari, Dashboard, Mail, and many other OS X applications. I've only played around with Chrome for a few days, but I'm happy to stick with Safari for now (I love my MobileMe sync).
Here's how the top four browsers play out in market share:
Internet Explorer 63.6%
Firefox 24.7%
Chrome 4.4%
Safari 4.37%
What about you guys? Firefox, Chrome, IE (if you're on a PC) or Safari? Tell us what you use in the poll!
TUAWChrome makes Safari take a back seat originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Stolen laptop returned courtesy Back to My Mac information and police work
Filed under: Odds and ends, PowerBook, MobileMe
In late August we told you the story of 'Jim' who had his Mac laptop stolen along with some other computers and household goods. For the heck of it, he tried using Back to My Mac to find his machine. Back to My Mac is a feature of Apple's MobileMe service. Jim was surprised to find the Mac was online. He watched whoever had the laptop searching job sites, and cruising the web. He even saw some blurry pictures of people hovering around the computer.
The local police spent some time on the investigation, and finally recovered the laptop. Just a few days ago Jim picked it up. Many of his files were gone, but the Mac itself was in pretty good shape.
The investigators said the laptop had changed hands at least 5 times, and was probably used at least once as payment in a drug deal.
The perps may never be identified because of the laptop constantly changing hands, and no one seems to be talking. A happier ending would have been to have the crooks caught, but at least the laptop is back, and Back to My Mac helped accomplish the rescue. There have been other cases of Back To My Mac rescuing Macs and Apple's Find My iPhone service (also part of MobileMe) tracking stolen iPhones.
Thanks to Jim for sharing his story with us.TUAWStolen laptop returned courtesy Back to My Mac information and police work originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dozen Daily Deals for December 15, 2009
Filed under: Deals
'Tis the season shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy!
- iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] App Store Price Drops: SketchBook Mobile, ReelDirector, Wolfram Alpha, more
- iTunes Music Store: [MP3 Downloads] Free at iTunes: Bob Dylan "Must Be Santa", more
- Apple Store: [iMac] 4 refurbished Apple iMac Desktops: 20" for $849 + free shipping, 24" from $1,099
- Apple Store: [MacBook Pro] Refurbished Apple MacBook Pro Laptops from $1,299 + free shipping
- iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] TomTom U.S.A. for iPhone downloads for $50
- GoDaddy: [Computer Services] GoDaddy.com coupon: New 1-year domain name registration for $1
- US Appliance: [40" - 42" LCD TVs] Sony XBR 240Hz LCD HDTV Bundles: 40" for $1,049, 46" for $1,449 + free shipping
- iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone downloads for $20
- US Appliance: [50" - 52" LCD TVs] Sony BRAVIA XBR 52" 240Hz 1080p LCD HDTV Bundle for $1,649 + free shipping
- MacUpdate Promo: [Computer Software] MacUpdate Holiday Bundle: 14 Mac apps for $50
- Bargain Outfitters: [iPod Accessories] Eton Sound 100 AM/FM Clock Radio with iPod Dock for $35 + $8 s&h
- MidnightBox: [iPod Accessories] Griffin Technology BlueTrip Bluetooth Stereo Connection Kit for iPod for $11 + $4 s&h
TUAWDozen Daily Deals for December 15, 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Mac 101: Eject a stuck disc
Filed under: Hardware, How-tos, Holidays, Mac 101
Now that the holidays are approaching, you'll probably be asked to service your relatives' computers. "You like computers, right? Will you take a look at this for me?" Prepare yourself, it's coming.
Some fixes are easy, including the stuck disc. It can happen for a variety of reasons that we won't go into here. After all, when the Titanic is sinking, you don't stop to yell at the iceberg. So let's just eject the disc.
The fix is simple. After trying the obvious (hit the eject key, drag the disc into the trash), restart the machine and as it starts up, hold down the mouse button (or trackpad button if the offending Mac is a laptop). The disc should now eject as the Mac continues to start up. If not, you may have optical drive issues to worry about. But chances are you'll get mom's extended edition Murder, She Wrote DVD ejected safe and sound.TUAWMac 101: Eject a stuck disc originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Found footage: 6 iPhones almost make a full keyboard
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Found Footage
A piano has 88 keys, and this arrangement of iPhones comes pretty close (we counted 84). The pianist has six iPhones laid out in a row starting from a low C and progressing through 5 octaves. As a result, he can play a nice piece of music on very tiny, touch-sensitive keys. That takes a good bit of dexterity. He has obviously been doing his Hanon exercises.
There are a number of piano apps in the App Store, including Pocket Piano [iTunes link], Virtuoso Piano [iTunes link] and Mini Piano [iTunes link]. We can't tell which app is being used here, but the UI closely resembles that of Mini Piano. Budding artists may wish to practice piano with GarageBand '09 or work on sight reading with Key Wiz [iTunes link].
[Via Swiss Miss]TUAWFound footage: 6 iPhones almost make a full keyboard originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Leaked details of Intel's Core i7-980X Processor
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Hardware, Rumors, Mac Pro
You'd think we were on the verge of an old-school Macworld Expo Keynote with all the rumors about this morning. Chinese site PCOnline.com.cn has spilled the beans on Intel's forthcoming Core i7-980x Processor. We're guessing that this processor could reside in future Mac Pros.
Code-named "Gulftown" the 32nm, six-core i7-980X will be labeled as the i7x ("Extreme Edition"), not the i9 as many expected. It will be the first dual-socket, six-core processor from Intel. The image reveals that, with 6 cores and 12 threads, a dual-configured, i7-980X Mac Pro will sport 12 physical cores and 24 logical cores. Expect a top frequency of 3.33GHz.
It's a guess as to if and when these processors will appear in Mac Pros, so we'll keep our eyes peeled. That's going to be one nasty machine.
Earlier this month, the the quad-core Mac Pro was updated to include a 3.33 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor.
[Via HardMac]TUAWLeaked details of Intel's Core i7-980X Processor originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Warrior Epic MMO releases iPhone tie-in
This is an interesting trend: Warrior Epic, an MMO game by True Games, has announced that they've released an iPhone app [iTunes link] version for free, featuring "a small portion of the strategy, role-playing and battles found in the online MMORPG," kind of like a taster for the actual PC game. The game itself isn't a 3D action game like the full game, but rather a "stat game," much like many of the minigames being released on Facebook and other social platforms (in fact, Warrior Epic is releasing this game as a Facebook game as well).
Unfortunately, the only real tie between the games seems to be having the same name and being set in the same universes -- we don't have any characters to test, but it doesn't seem that you can transfer your actual characters or items from the PC game across to the iPhone. But this will be a trend to watch -- two other major MMOs have started work on official iPhone apps, and of course the 800 lb. gorilla of the MMO world, Blizzard, maker of World of Warcraft, has shown a strong interest in the iPhone as a platform, even though they haven't quite released any games on it yet. In the future, you can probably expect to see platforms like the iPhone host access (if limited) to your favorite persistent online games even while you're away from your computer. Should be exciting.TUAWWarrior Epic MMO releases iPhone tie-in originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Rumor: Toshiba's 64GB NAND flash chip for iPhone
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Rumors, iPhone, iPod touch
Last week, a brief tweet from Mobile Review's editor-in-chief, Eldar Murtazin sparked a rumor that Taiwan-based manufacturer Foxconn had received orders to build the next-generation iPhone. This week Toshiba has announced their 64GB NAND flash chip -- the largest capacity in the industry. Is this what Foxconn will be stuffing into future iPhones?
Apple has doubled the capacity of the top-of-the-line model in previous updates. You'll remember that the curent iPhone contains either a single 16GB or 32GB Toshiba NAND module. We're not in charge of production at Foxconn, but it seems that six months is enough time to produce a pile of these. This is speculation, of course, but speculation is fun.
Note that Apple uses a pair of NAND packages in the 32GB or 64GB iPod touch. Can you say 128GB iPod touch? We don't know who would need that much storage space, but Apple sells a 160GB hard drive-based iPod, so what do we know? Apple chews up a substantial slice of the worldwide NAND market, so any tweaks to capacity or manufacturing are definitely noteworthy in Cupertino.
Last month the Korean Times accused Apple of manipulating flash memory prices. It's been estimated that Apple consumes 25% of the world's flash memory.TUAWRumor: Toshiba's 64GB NAND flash chip for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Overall Mac sales up 21%, desktops up 74% year over year
Filed under: Hardware, Retail, iMac
There's probably a number of reasons why this might have happened (and we're sure you can come up with more than we can), but nevertheless, here you go: overall Mac sales are up by 21 percent in October and November since last year at the same time, according to Gene Munster (not pictured), analyst at Piper Jaffray. Desktop Mac sales are especially huge, with the rise as high as 74%, which seems like a typo next to MacBook and MacBook Pro increases of just five percent. In fact, those gigantic desktop sales, some reason, might actually be the reason behind the recent iMac delays.
At any rate, no matter why, Apple is making a boatload on Macs this quarter already. Even without the bulk of the holiday season, the desktops were already flying off the shelves in huge numbers compared to last year.TUAWOverall Mac sales up 21%, desktops up 74% year over year originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Best iPhone games of the year picks start to roll in
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store
Gamasutra wins the award for being the first (that I've seen) to pick awards for their best five iPhone games of the year, and the list is respectable, if a little short for such a huge set of possibility. Unfortunately, they don't win any TUAW points for going with Skee-Ball over our preferred Ramp Champ, but Rolando 2 was a worthy sequel to a worthy game, Edge (now Edgy) and Eliss are both great games (too bad you can't play the former, but the latter was underrated for sure), and Space Invaders Infinity Gene deserves to be on almost any end-of-the-year iPhone game list.
Good picks in there for sure. DigitalTrends also has a long list, though strangely, they tend to stick to big names and brands. There are a few gems in there -- Spider, UniWar, and Vay may be a couple good choices that you haven't heard of yet. And here's another top 10 list with some repeats from the ones above and a few more nice picks. I guess with the end of the year upon us, we'll probably have to choose TUAW's favorites of 2009, too, eh? Stay tuned.TUAWBest iPhone games of the year picks start to roll in originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Watch out AT&T: Operation Chokehold is coming
Filed under: iPhone
After Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T Mobility, stated earlier this week that he wants iPhone users to limit their data usage the web exploded with anger. The New York Times sided with AT&T, but others thought that was bogus. Now Fake Steve Jobs is getting in on the action. Fake Steve is telling iPhone users to go crazy with their data usage this Friday, December 18, to teach De La Vega a lesson in for trying to stifle his customers contract-given-rights for unlimited data usage.
Subject: Operation Chokehold
On Friday, December 18, at noon Pacific time, we will attempt to overwhelm the AT&T data network and bring it to its knees. The goal is to have every iPhone user (or as many as we can) turn on a data intensive app and run that app for one solid hour. Send the message to AT&T that we are sick of their substandard network and sick of their abusive comments. The idea is we'll create a digital flash mob. We're calling it in Operation Chokehold. Join us and speak truth to power!
I'm in the UK where we have multiple providers to choose from (as many countries do), but I can understand the frustration US users have with being limited to only one carrier with poor network performance and then being lectured about their data usage.
So TUAW readers. What's it gonna be? You going to do a little choking come Friday?TUAWWatch out AT&T: Operation Chokehold is coming originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Patent lawsuit of the week: BetaNet goes after Apple and more
Filed under: Apple Corporate
Word from Jim Dalrymple at The Loop tonight that Monday brought a new patent lawsuit against Apple... and 17 other tech companies, including Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk, Sony, Kodak (!) and more. This time, the complaining company, BetaNet, has a 1993 patent that it says covers a "Secure System for Activating Personal Computer Software at Remote Locations."
While the patent holders clearly feel they have a pretty broad front to attack on, reading the complaint over at Justia makes it seem a little... well, I'm not a lawyer or a patent expert, but there's some confusion here. Have a look at the section of the complaint dealing with Apple:
OK, sure, that's one way you could handle remote registrations and software serialization, but how do we know that's the way Apple does it exactly? It actually sounds more like Sassafras's K2 to me. What 'critical portions' of these apps are supposed to be missing from the downloaded installation content?Upon information and belief, Defendant Apple has been and now is directly infringing, and indirectly infringing by way of inducing infringement and/or contributing to the infringement of the '476 Patent in the State of Texas, in this judicial district, and elsewhere in the United States, by, among other things, using, selling and offering to sell computer software via a process that provides a program file - having a loader segment and a registration shell portion - to a remote computer having a display. The program file lacks a critical portion that prevents the program file from operating properly. User identification information is entered in the registration shell portion, and transmitted from the registration shell to a separate registration program provided in a registration computer. The registration program merges user identification data with the critical portion to generate a unique overlay file that is transmitted from the registration program to the registration shell. The overlay file contains the critical portion originally lacking from the program file, and it is installed in the program file, thereby allowing operation of the program file. For example, without limitation, Defendant Apple is marketing, distributing, using, selling, and offering to sell its iTunes, Aperture, QuickTime, and MobileMe programs. Defendant Apple is thus liable for infringement of the '476 Patent pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), (b) & (c).
Also, I might draw your attention to the examples of allegedly infringing software at the bottom of the paragraph... the " iTunes, Aperture, QuickTime, and MobileMe programs" that are of such concern? Well, as we all know, two of them are free, which means they aren't sold or serialized at all (if they meant QuickTime Pro, they should have said QuickTime Pro), and one of them isn't a 'program' but rather an online service. Nice research work, lawyers of BetaNet; you should feel proud.
We'll run this one by our resident legal eagles and get their take. Another week, another patent case!TUAWPatent lawsuit of the week: BetaNet goes after Apple and more originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Checking In, an app for when you're stressed out
Filed under: App Review
Too much stress can kill. According to the American Medical Association, stress is a factor in over 75% of sickness and the World Health Organization has stated that stress is America's number one health problem. We all experience some degree of stress and that's on the increase due to information overload, the increasing complexity of our lives and a litany of reasons too numerous to count. We all know this on some level, but what can be done about it?
One possible solution can be found in a very intriguing app called Check In: The 5 Tools of EBT [iTunes Link] $.99 US. EBT stands for Emotional Brain Training, a method that was developed over the last 30 years at the University of California, San Francisco, to act as an appetite suppressant for obese children. Eventually, in response to new discoveries in neuroscience (the study of the nervous system) EBT reached its present form. EBT is a brain-based emotional response training method that purports to teach people how to effectively process stress so that their stress level returns to one of well being.
The method involves 5 specific levels of stress ranging from 1: feeling great, to 5: totally stressed out. Once a level is determined you are given systematic and repetitious tools to raise your level. With enough practice transitory results can become longer lasting as you, in effect, rewire your brain to deal with stress in a positive manner.
When the app is first run, you'll see the screen at the top of this post. There are two major components of the app: one that determines your current brain state and another that helps you raise the brain state, eventually getting to 1.
Tapping on the Brain State Finder runs a video of Laurel Mellin, one of the developers of the method, who explains each brain state in a brief video and presents a series of multiple choice questions involving thinking, feeling, relationships, spirituality and behavior. When that's done, another video of Laurel runs telling you your current brain state, and explaining it fully. Whenever you get through a task, you'll get another video of Lauren (these can be turned off), which is uncannily specific to what you just did. It's not the like having a therapist in the room with you, but more like a coach who, amazingly enough, always seems to have your number both literally and figuratively. Since there is so much video, the app is quite large (weighing in at 106 MB).
The next step is tap on Get To One, which asks you to tap on the number you were given, plays a video summarizing your state and presents you with one of number of tools. In this case it's a number of sentences to finish. When done, you reevaluate your number and if it changed, you tap once again on Get To One which will take you through another tool.
There are added smaller options that don't contain videos. Sanctuary is a audible relaxation exercise that talks you through relaxing your body and offers you positive EBT oriented affirmations. This takes about 10 minutes. The voice is soothing and the narration is effective, but the recording quality is horrible. There is an annoying buzz permeating the soundtrack and the occasional sound of something banging into the microphone. You'll have to set your iPhone/iPod touch not to go to sleep since with the usual minute or two sleep setting, the app will not stay open, and the audio will stop; this reduces any positive effect of the exercise. This needs to be corrected quickly by either having the app stay open or just keeping the audio going.
There is a Progress option telling you how many times you checked in, and what your brain state averages out to be. Another button brings up an RSS feed of EBT news. The most interesting small option is called Grind In, which simply asks you to type in powerful message that you really want to take to heart. This is remembered and new messages can be added to the list. When you tap on the Grind In Now! button, you are asked to say the message out loud, then tap the Say It Again, button. To finish this task you need to repeat the phrase 10 times. This is a very simple, but quite effective way of taking on new beliefs through repetition.
This is a lot to get for a buck, but there is a reason that this app is so inexpensive. Although potentially useful by itself, it's an appetizer meant to get you interested enough in the method that you'll consider buying a series of 6 courses at $100 each. I see nothing wrong with that since what you are given is complete unto itself but limited. You soon realize that regardless of what you are asked, the video that comes up on a particular level is always the same. 5 levels with 5 videos talking about 5 tools are what you get. But you also get enough information and (although this isn't a game) play value to get a strong feeling of whether this is beneficial for you and whether you are interested in pursuing EBT further.
I would really recommend this app to anyone feeling the pangs of too much stress. For a dollar I don't think that anyone will get to brain state 1, but it's already lowered my personal stress level noticeably.
Here are two videos. The first is a tour of the app and the second, if you're interested, is an overview of EBT.
TUAW is commonly provided with not-for-resale licenses or promo codes to permit product evaluations and reviews. For more details, see our policy page.TUAWChecking In, an app for when you're stressed out originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Adweek Media's Campaign of the Decade: Apple's Get a Mac ads
Filed under: iPod Family, Odds and ends, Apple
As Apple fans, we've loved Apple's "Get a Mac" ad campaign. With Justin Long as the cool, laid-back Mac and John Hodgman starring as the stodgy, uptight PC, the ads have managed to make us laugh since they first appeared in 2006. The campaign has spawned the "I'm a PC" response ads from Microsoft, which aren't nearly as fun or effective as the original (if we do say so ourselves).
The ads have been incredibly effective at getting Apple's message across -- Macs just work, with no bloatware, few viruses and little malware, and Mac users can do a lot with the provided iLife software.
AdweekMedia has paid tribute to the campaign in its Best of the 2000s awards, giving the Campaign of the Decade plaudits to Apple and TBWA / Media Arts Lab for the memorable ads.
That's not the only Apple campaign that received an award -- the iPod "Silhouettes" campaign won the Out of Home Ad of the Decade prize. Out of Home ads (AKA outdoor advertising) consist of those advertisements that are shown on billboards, buses, and kiosks rather than on television or in print. The awards were voted upon by the editors of AdweekMedia, and reader's choice awards were also listed. The "Get a Mac" campaign was third place in reader voting, while "Silhouettes" picked up the number one spot from readers in its category.TUAWAdweek Media's Campaign of the Decade: Apple's Get a Mac ads originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Let's talk AAPL and the future
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, Apple Financial, Apple
It's been a roller coaster ride over the past two years for Apple (AAPL) stock. In December 2007 it hit a then-peak of $199.83 a share. Just two months later AAPL sunk to $125. Three months after that it had recovered to the $180s, but by November 2008, AAPL had plummeted to $82 a share. Since then, the stock has recovered and hit an all-time closing high of $207 on November 17, 2009. As of today it's sitting pretty in the $190s -- though some think the drop from the $200s to $190s is suspicious.
I argue with people all the time why Apple didn't deserve its dips and plummets over the last two years: The company is sitting flush with$23.5 billion$35 billion in the bank, in cash (about the same as the total market value of another major US computer maker, named for its CEO and founder, who 12 years ago famously suggested shutting down Apple and giving the money back to shareholders). It has zero debt. It is one of the most respected companies on the planet and has the world's greatest CEO. But more importantly than the cash and its status, I believe AAPL is a great buy because it has such small market share in all the categories it operates in save one...
iPod classic and iPod nano aside (through which Apple has about 80% share of the MP3 player market), Apple has small to minuscule market shares in computers (10%), phones (2%), and tablets (0%). That's to say nothing of the fact that they are now a player in hand-held gaming of which they possessed zero share a year ago.
What do these small market shares mean? Nearly unlimited room for growth. Given how Apple is dominating the mind share of these new markets already, not to mention its incredible sales, it looks like the next three years of AAPL has very little downside. The only reason AAPL dropped so much over the last two years was because of the recession. It had nothing to do with the company. Apple was and is as healthy as could be. It was the recession - and the understandable fear of investing in the economy at large - that drove the stock down.
Today JPMorgan raised its target on AAPL to $230, and after a look at the latest retail data Piper Jaffray's bullish Gene Munster is maintaining his $277 target. Though I generally don't like financial analysts (I mean, monkeys are at least as helpful as most analysts - and a lot less shady), I think $230 is a easy hit. But more so, I believe that AAPL could hit $300 by the end of 2010 and $400 the year later - as long as the bankers can keep their egos in check and avoid another global meltdown.
But that's just my opinion. What do you think? Vote in the poll and give us your thoughts in the comments!
Disclaimer: This author owns shares in AAPL. Opinions in this post are those of the author only and should not be considered as investment advice.TUAWLet's talk AAPL and the future originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Add some color to somebody's holiday with a coloring book
Filed under: Software, Holidays
What better way to add some color to someone's holiday than with a coloring book? With Kalle Svenson's Colorize your photos, converting your existing photos into ones with a coloring book effect is a simple drag and drop away. After dragging in your photos, you can make granular adjustments to the levels (fewer or more) of detail, as well as black and gray levels. In the above photo, my man Tobias Funke, originally covered up in Blue Man Group blue, has been colorized so that I can color him into whatever hue of blue my heart desires.
One thing missing in the app that I'd like added is the ability to compile a coloring book. But this isn't that big an issue, as one can compile PDFs using Preview.app. Also, if you already own Adobe Photoshop, you may find that some of its built-in filters achieve a similar effect.
These things aside, Colorize your photos is a straightforward and easy-to-use app suitable for both kids and the kids within us. Colorize your photos is available for purchase for USD $24.95, and as a free download trial.
TUAW has 2 free licenses of Colorize your photos to give away to TUAW readers. To enter, leave a comment about the pictures you'd most want to turn into a coloring book.
The rules:
- Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
- To enter, leave a comment below.
- The comment must be left by Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Two winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- Prize: One free license of Colorize your photos (retail value USD $24.95).
- Click here for Official Rules
TUAWAdd some color to somebody's holiday with a coloring book originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Steve Jobs up for Time's 'Person of the Year'
Filed under: Other Events, Steve Jobs, Apple
Time magazine has revealed its final seven candidates for Person of the Year, and one Mr. Steven P. Jobs has made the list. Though the editors of Time have already chosen the winner (to be announced on The Today Show on Wednesday morning), MSNBC.com wants to know who us average folk would vote for.
At the risk of our audience being slightly biased, I'm going to release the same poll here. So vote below, and don't feel bad if you don't think Steve should get it. He's already won another little award this year.
UPDATE: TIME's Person of the Year 2009 is Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke.TUAWSteve Jobs up for Time's 'Person of the Year' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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