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- Phun 3.5
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Education, Freeware
For (let's say) "phans" of Crayon Physics, Phun 3.5 is a similar kind of physics simulator created by Emil Ernerfeldt for his thesis at Umeå University, Sweden. Not only is it Swedish, but it's just been released for the Mac.
Sure, it's rough-around-the-edges, and it follows pretty much none of the Mac's interface or key-combination conventions, but it's sure a fun (with an F) toy. Phun is Universal Binary, and freeware.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - AT&T clearing the decks for iPhone 3G?
Nobody keeps a secret like AT&T, and by that I mean nobody keeps a secret quite so poorly. Boy Genius Report and other sites are talking up an internal Death Star memo that asks employees to hold down the fort during the June 15 - July 12 window. Vacations should be moved if possible, says management, and no additional vacations are being approved during that period.
Since AT&T pulled a similar Mr. Burns-esque maneuver last year prior to the iPhone launch, it's entirely reasonable to pin this year's lockdown on the arrival of the 3G iPhone after WWDC. It's probably not necessary to stake out your place in line just yet, unless you happen to be an elected official or have an injured knee from a previous iPhone queue. If you were planning an iPhone purchase in the next four weeks, however, this is some of the strongest evidence yet that you really should put your credit card down and think it through.
[via Techmeme]
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Howdy!
Filed under: TUAW Business
Howdy, TUAW-ites. My name is Steve Sande and I'm the new kid on the block here at TUAW. Saying that I'm the new kid is a bit misleading, since I'm over the half-century mark in the age column.
I've been writing online since 1986, when I started up a Mac/Apple IIGS Bulletin Board System called MAGIC. That BBS continued for 8 years until 1994, when I began publishing a blog-like website called PDAntic.com on the web, writing about the Apple Newton MessagePad. That site went through various incarnations, ending with the latest - MovableBeast.com. I also blog and podcast occasionally on TalkingWordpress.com, and I can be heard on the MacJury podcasts as a regular jury member.
My first Mac purchase was in December of 1984; a Mac 512K with an ImageWriter II printer. My latest? A MacBook Air! My next dream machine is going to be a 3.06 GHz 24" iMac with 4GB of RAM and a 1 TB HD. I'm not sure how many Macs I've owned since 1984...
So, what do I do when I'm not blogging? I'm currently an ACN (Apple Consultant Network) member, which means I'm a certified Apple consultant. I write documentation for several commercial Mac applications, I've written a couple of ebooks for Take Control Books, and I teach Business Analysis classes all over the country.
I'm thrilled to be part of the TUAW team, and I look forward to your comments and story tips.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Flickr find: 1Password icon shows up in the strangest places
Filed under: Odds and ends, Flickr Find
If you're an independent Mac software developer, having a wicked cool icon for your application is both a blessing and a curse. Users will remember you for the sleek, Leopard-ready goodness of your icon ... and other unscrupulous marketers will rip you off shamelessly to promote their own products, rather than ponying up for an original design.
The all-time champion victim (self-reported) of icons ripped off is Panic's Transmit FTP tool; the little truck shows up just about everywhere you could possibly imagine. New to the underground icon market, however, is the 1Password browser-key logo -- it may make you think "Hey, I could drive Safari to the supermarket!" but apparently the makers of ProductKeyFinder, a Windows serial number app, found it too delicious to pass up. The purloined product identity is visible on PKF's eBay sales page and on Flickr. It looks like the packaging has been updated (and the product renamed to Product Key Explorer), so this tale of icon swiping has a happy ending.
Thanks Roustem!
Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Anticipating Indiana Jones? Your Mac is, too
Filed under: Features, Cult of Mac
Forget WWDC, the iPhone App Store and the Apple Design Awards. The one thing we want to see this summer is the new Indiana Jones movie!
We're sure some of you feel the same anticipation, so why not let your Mac in on the fun? The workers at The Iconfactory have launched their month-long tribute to Dr. Jones with Indy-themed freeware icon sets, one for each movie. So far, the Raiders of the Lost Ark set has been released, while The Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull icon sets will debut later this month.
If your using CandyBar (we've written about CandyBar several times), you can make use of the Indy-themed Dock. Finally, round things of with this great desktop picture (it's also available for the iPhone!).Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - You're gonna have to face it ...
Filed under: Blogging, TUAW Business
Hello everyone! My name is Robert Palmer, and I'd like to first thank you in advance for letting me blog for you here at TUAW. I've been using a Mac since 1992, and have owned five Macs since. By day, I'm a web developer, specializing in clean, honest, standards-compliant XHTML and CSS. By night, I am asleep.
Here's me a dozen years ago, photographed with my high school girlfriend.*
Up until I started working for myself last November, I was the de-facto IT guy for a 15-workstation Mac network in a graphic design studio environment. I plan to cover plenty of ground for you at the crossroads of the design and Mac worlds.
Cheers to everyone, and be so kind as to leave your best "Addicted to Love," "Simply Irresistible," or "Looking for Clues" jokes in comments. That's right, get it all out of your system now.
*First commenter to correctly name the model pictured wins at the Internets. Hint: It was photographed in a classroom.Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iTunes: Free Tuesday
Filed under: iTS, Features, Deals
Once again, TUAW is pleased to present you with a selection of free songs and videos from around the world. Many of these iTMS items won't be free for long, so grab your copies before the week is up. And don't forget: If you want to buy these on your iPhone or iPod touch, make sure to sign into your account in iTunes before you sync.
Continue reading iTunes: Free Tuesday
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - The philosophy of iMac
Filed under: Cult of Mac, iMac
Let me tell you something about my mindset. When I bought an iPhone, one of my first thoughts was: "How do I hook up a bluetooth keyboard to this thing?" It's that kind of thinking that has always stood between me and the iMac. Because in this world, there are two kinds of people[1]: the iMac people and the tower people.
iMac people love the all-in-one package that their system brings. It's hard to look at an iMac and not think that it's smiling at you. The iMac delivers the entire computing experience in a single friendly unit. Customization? They do it at the store. Buyers decide what kind of memory and hard drive space they want. And then they buy it. And they're done.
Tower people don't think that way. Memory, drives, peripherals -- these are all things that ebb and flow throughout the lifetime of the unit. More USB ports? Throw in a card. Widescreen monitors just went on sale? Buy one and eBay the current screen.
Coming from an tower perspective, the iMac has always puzzled me. It makes people happy without ever needing to be disassembled and reassembled. Sure, there are hobbyists who do exactly that but they are usually tower people playing with iMac-shaped toys. Most iMac users I know are perfectly happy to use their Apple system for the entire lifetime of that unit -- often a very long lifetime indeed -- and never crack it open and mod it. Ever.
Astonishing.
So here I am raising a glass to the iMac on its birthday and to all the iMac users whose lives have been enriched by this little puzzling unit. May your systems be reliable and long-lived. And may you continue to enjoy your all-in-one system. Cheers!
[1] That is, other than the people who divide people into two kinds of people and the people who don't.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iMac turns 10
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iMac, Apple
It was ten years ago today that Steve Jobs mounted the Flint Center auditorium near Apple's campus and revealed the product that would save Apple, and become the best selling computer of all time: the iMac. It is hard to believe that this cute little guy is ten years old, but it is true.
The original iMac came stocked with a 233MHz G3, 32MB of SDRAM (though you could bump it up to a whopping 128MB), a 4 gig harddrive, 2 USB ports, a CD-ROM drive (not a CD burner, Apple was late to that party), and an IrDA port. These specs might not make your heart skip a beat nowadays, but the iMac is the product that started Apple's amazing turn around. It was the first mainstream computer to break with the past and offer only USB ports, no legacy connectors here. And it is worth noting that the iMac can also be attributed as the killer of the floppy disk.
I recall the howls from the tech community about the iMac's lack of a floppy drive. 'People love their floppies!' 'This is nothing more than an expensive toy!' All charges leveled against the iMac, but the decision actually helped create a market for USB accessories as most people bought their iMac and a USB floppy drive (I know I did. I used that floppy drive twice: once to make sure it worked, and another time to copy a file).
The iMac wasn't available for purchase until August of 1998 (for the base price of $1299), but today is a date that should be circled in Bondi Blue for any true Mac fan.
Check out our gallery of screenshots that show Apple's website the day after the iMac announcement. All screenshots was taken using the Wayback Machine.
Thanks, Shane, for reminding us of the date!Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Italy will have two iPhone carriers
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Rumors, iPhone
Earlier today we learned that Vodafone has been tagged to carry the iPhone in ten countries, including Italy. Shortly after that announcement Italian communications company Telecom Italia announced that they, too, will carry the iPhone.
Neither company provided any more detail than that, so exactly what those plans will look like and how they'll co-exist is unknown. However, we understand that Italians love pay-as-you-go plans. In fact, Vodafone reports that 91% of their current Italian customers lack contracts.
Perhaps a paid vs. contract-free option? Only The Shadow knows. We'll keep you informed, readers.
[Via MacNN]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Boston's Apple Store to open May 16
Filed under: Retail
We've been following the story of Boston's upcoming Apple Store for a long time, and now it's scheduled to open on Friday, May 16th at 6:00 PM. Yes, I'll be there. Say "Hi."
When complete, it will be the ninth store in Massachusetts and certainly the largest ... or will it?
According to Gizmodo, the Boylston St. store will be the largest of all Apple retail stores. Citing "a store employee," Giz reports that an average 1,500-2000 customers/hour will visit the store.
Not so fast, Giz! Our friend Gary at ifoAppleStore shared this tidbit of information with us:
"...the [Boylston Street] lot is only 6,384 square-feet, so the store would have to be at least five stories to be larger than Regent Street (London), at 28,000 s.f."
At four stories high, it cannot be declared the biggest. Sorry, Boston. What we can say is that it opens soon and it's very, very big.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple announces deadline for Design Awards
Apple has announced the submission deadline for the Apple Design Awards (ADA). The ADA take place every year during the World Wide Developer Conference, and recognizes the best efforts in several categories including user experience, overall application, student project and more.
Previous winners include Coda (best user experience 2007), CSSEdit 2.5 (Best Developer tool, 2007) and Comic Life (Best New Product for Mac OS X, 2005).
New this year is the iPhone category, which should be very exciting. The deadline for the 2008 ADA is May 12.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Vodafone to sell iPhone in 10 countries
Filed under: iPhone
Today Vodafone announced that it is partnering with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten countries:
- Australia
- the Czech Republic
- Egypt
- Greece
- Italy
- India
- Portugal
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- Turkey
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iPhone is most popular camera phone on Flickr
Filed under: iPhone
I'm often impressed by the photos I get out of my little iPhone. It's not a pro-level DSLR for sure, but for quick, off-the-cuff snapshots, it does a very good job.
I'm not alone in my belief. Computerworld's analysis of current Flickr Data shows that the iPhone is their most popular camera phone. Part of that is the novelty of the iPhone, undoubtedly. Owners continue to relish any excuse to whip them out.
The other is ease of posting a photo to Flickr. Once you've added your special Flickr email address to your contact list, sharing a photo is a snap. Tap it once, tap "Email photo," enter the first few letters of your Flickr email address and hit Send. Done.
While we're on the subject, I'll offer my tip for taking decent iPhone photos. Unlike nearly every other camera ever made, the iPhone exposes an image when the "shutter button" is released, not depressed. With that in mind, here's the three step process I follow
- Press and hold the "shutter button"
- Compose the shot
- Release
[Via Ars Technica]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1
Filed under: Software
VMware has just announced VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1, the first beta of the second iteration of their very successful virtualization product for the Mac. As you'll recall Fusion allows you to run a host of OSes on your Intel Mac including, but not limited to, many flavors of Windows.
The above video gives you a tour of Fusion 2.0 Beta 1's top new features, including:
- Multiple monitor support (up to 10 displays!)
- Improved networking and printing
- Support for DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2 (this is experimental, and it might not work on your Mac)
- A refined UI for settings and VM management
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Multiple monitor support (up to 10 displays!)
- iPhone to become subsidized, non-exclusive?
Filed under: iPhone
RBC analyst Mark Abramsky says that the iPhone will exceed its projected goal of 10 million devices sold in 2008 -- possibly by selling upwards of 14 million. How is Apple going to get these sales figures? Well, Abramsky suggests that AT&T could subsidize the iPhone by up to $200 for the 8GB model. This would mean the 8GB iPhone could sell for as little as $199 (previously rumored here); and possibly increase sales by 50 to 100 percent. According to Abramsky, this would mean Apple would have to drop revenue sharing with AT&T.
Mr. Abramsky also believes that Apple will start to sell unlocked iPhones (or iPhones without a specific carrier) without a premium over the AT&T iPhones. He suggest that unlocked iPhones could increase the adoption rate by two to three times for Apple's phone.
All of Abramsky's conjecture hinges on Apple and AT&T agreeing to end their 5 year exclusivity agreement early. We here at TUAW see no real reason for either company to agree to that, at least not in the States.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Broken iPod: fix it or replace it?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family
There are few things worse than reaching for your iPod only to find that the screen is cracked, the hard drive has died, or that the darned thing just won't play music anymore. At that point you have to ask yourself, like someone did of the New York Times, do I fix this iPod or just replace it?
The answer is easy if your iPod is still under warranty, but if it isn't things get a little trickier. If your iPod is a few models behind what Apple is currently offering it probably makes sense to put the money you would have spent on replacement parts towards a new iPod. However, if you have an iPod that Apple doesn't make anymore (I'm thinking of the iPod mini) then you just might want to fix up your piece of consumer electronics history.
What say you, insightful TUAW reader? Would you just get a new iPod, or be more eco-friendly and get your old iPod fixed?
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - ScreenSteps 2.1 beta: post lessons directly to your blog
Filed under: Cool tools
When Blue Mango Learning Systems released version 2.0.3 of (TUAW favorite) ScreenSteps, its software for creating screen-based lessons, they added the option to output blog-friendly code for pasting into your own site. But some of us were inspired by the possibilities and cried for direct blog posting. Taking to heart user input, they've just opened up the beta of version 2.1 to the public with the ability to post individual lessons directly to WordPress, TypePad and Movable Type blogs.
It works quite well. On a Wordpress install with a basic theme, it comes out looking great, and adjustments are easy to make if you have a more complex custom theme. It adds a new level of usefulness to the software, in that it makes it a breeze to write and post tutorials to your blog.
In the early beta tests there were some issues with repeating an existing post with the intention of editing it, but the folks at Blue Mango have been working diligently to smooth out issues. If you spend any time instructing others on screen-based tasks, give it a shot. The developers would love to get your input as version 2.1 comes to life.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple to include Chinese handwriting recognition in iPhone 2.0
Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone
According to MacRumors, Apple recently started hiring "Handwriting Recognition Engineers," could this mean the iPhone is coming to China soon? Only time will tell, but this should definitely give people something to hope for.
Thanks, Kenneth.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Found Footage: Band brings multiple instruments to iPhone
Filed under: iPhone
If you're musically inclined and the owner of a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch, keep your eyes and ears out for the impending release of Band (video here), the latest app from Moo Cow Music (the mad scientists responsible for Pianist, Guitarist and Drummer). Coming soon via the ModMyiPhone sources, this application promises to put all your musical fun into one touchable tool.
You'll be able to record and play back your compositions, which is bound to make you the most popular person around (as if the iPhone itself wasn't enough for that).
[via JustAnotheriPhoneBlog]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать
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