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- Apple to open 250th retail store
When Apple opens a new retail store, they typically mark the occasion with an opening day giveaway and free T-shirts. The story will be different in Modesto, California when Apple Store Vintage Faire opens on Saturday, November 14th at 6:00 PM Pacific.
Apple Store Vintage Faire will be Apple's 250th retail store, and they're celebrating with a week of special events, including classes, workshops, presentations and more, all free of charge. As usual, visitors who show up on opening day can grab a free T-shirt and register for the grand opening giveaway.
Apple Store Vintage Faire is located in the Vintage Faire Mall, at 3401 Dale Rd in Modesto, between Coach and Bebe. You'll find full travel directions here. It sounds like fun, so let us know if you attend.
A week of free events is cool and all, but for my money, you can't beat hula dancers.
[Via MacDailyNews]TUAWApple to open 250th retail store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iPhone bug a potential threat?
Filed under: Bugs/Recalls, iPhone
There's a lot of "could" and "might" in this story, folks, so keep that in mind. MacNN is reporting that a group of iPhone developers has identified a bug in the current iPhone firmware that could lead to an exploit of the Default.png file.
Default.png is what's displayed when an application is launched in the iPhone. Typically it's a static image, but some of Apple's applications use a dynamic file, which could be fooled into granting access to third party code.
This sounds like conjecture to us, and MacNN's sources are not known, so keep that in mind. Plus, iPhone firmware 2.2 is rumored to be released on the 21st. Perhaps it will lock this down.TUAWiPhone bug a potential threat? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Ars: AT&T to charge $30/month for tethering
Ars Technica's Justin Berka quotes MacBlogz, which claims a source at AT&T confirmed that tethering for the iPhone will closely resemble the phone-as-modem plans already available for BlackBerry.
The plan will cost at least $30 a month, and the cost will be rolled into a new plan for the iPhone. The source said that the plan will cap data transfer at 5GB, and AT&T will terminate the tethering connection if you go over the limit.
Also mentioned is the connection process: iTunes may be required to at least set up the initial tethering configuration, and may be required every time you connect.
Speeds will apparently start at 30kbps for areas serviced only by GPRS, and top out at 1000kbps for a really spectacular 3G connection. No release date was mentioned.
All this comes from deepest Rumorland, of course, so all due caution is advised. MacBlogz says the source has worked at AT&T for "some time now" and the rumor could be taken "relatively seriously."
TUAWArs: AT&T to charge $30/month for tethering originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iPhoneHellas: 2.2 coming November 21
According to iPhoneHellas.gr, version 2.2 of the iPhone firmware will be made available on November 21. The site says that the tipster is "reliable" but offered few details. Gizmodo calls the site "consistently reliable."
The tipster did say, however, that the update will not contain Greek keyboard support. Rumor has it that the update will contain:
- Street View, public transportation and walking directions for Maps
- An always-visible search field in Safari
- A rating request before you delete an app
- The ability to download podcasts directly to your handset
- Location sharing via email
- Support for Emoji icons
- An option to turn off auto-correction
There is still no word, of course, about the most requested and elusive of options: copy and paste. Gizmodo seems to think that -- if the release date is indeed on the 21st -- the major features of the update have been frozen. Looks like we'll have to wait until 2.3.
[Via O'Grady's PowerPage.]
TUAWiPhoneHellas: 2.2 coming November 21 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iTunes 101: Deauthorize all computers at once
Filed under: iTS, iTunes, Mac 101
Many iTunes users are aware of the 5-computer limit for purchases made through iTunes. But what happens when you reach this limit? Well, you could go to each computer and de-authorize it by going to Store > De-authorize Computer, but this doesn't work if you get rid of a computer and forget to de-authorize it.
If you have reached your 5-computer limit, then launch iTunes, click iTunes Store, and then click your iTunes user name in the top-right corner of the store window. Once you login, you should see a page with all of your account information on it. In the middle of the page, you should see how many computers are currrently authorized. When you reach your 5-computer limit, a new button will appear here called "Deauthorize All." When you click this button, and confirm, your computer limit will start over at zero.
You will then need to re-authorize the computers that you want to keep. From iTunes, go to Store > Authorize Computer.
Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 section.TUAWiTunes 101: Deauthorize all computers at once originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Coda 1.6 released, offers plug-in support
Filed under: Internet Tools, Developer
A cheery little dialog box informed me just a few minutes ago that Coda 1.6 is available from the fine folks at Panic.
Coda is a one-window web-development and editing environment that is one of my favorite apps, and one that we've covered here before.
Coda 1.6 introduces a plug-in architecture that extends Coda's already pretty robust text-editing functionality. With Coda Plug-in Creator, even users who aren't familiar with Cocoa can create plugins, which follow a similar format to TextMate's command bundles. The plug-in functionality mirrors that of up-and-comer Espresso, with its Sugar plug-ins. Espresso is still in beta.
Also included in the update is the Open Quickly command: a Spotlight-like command that searches your sites for files to open. Hit Control+Q to show the Open Quickly window, type a few characters, and open one of the files listed to get to work.
On top of that, Coda improves spell checking support, and now includes an Objective-J syntax mode. Full release notes are available here.
Coda 1.6 is available from Panic's website, or from inside the app by selecting "Check for Updates" from the Coda menu.
TUAWCoda 1.6 released, offers plug-in support originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Mac Automation: Rename multiple files efficiently
Filed under: Features, How-tos
With Automator, you can easily streamline common tasks. If you work with many files (i.e. pictures), then you know how easy it is to lose track because of incorrectly named files. With this Automator workflow, you'll never lose your place (or a file) again.
Building the Workflow
To create this workflow, simply add the following Automator actions (in the same order):- Get Specified Finder Items
- Rename Finder Items
When you add the "Rename Finder Items" action to your workflow, Automator will ask if you want to copy the files so you don't mess with the originals. Choose "Don't Add."
Configuring the Workflow
In the "Rename Finder Items" action, you have almost unlimited choices for renaming schemes. To get started, select a scheme from the first drop-down box. You can choose from: Add Date or time, Add Text, Change Case, Make Sequential, Replace Text, Name Single Item.
Once you select your renaming scheme, choose the options you want based on the scheme. For instance, if you wanted the "Make Sequential" scheme, you could choose to use existing naming, or create a new name. You can also select options for where to place the numbers, which number to start counting from, and how to separate the number from the rest of the text.
Running the Workflow
Once you have your naming scheme figured out, it's time to run the workflow, and have Automator do the heavy-lifting. Drag and drop the files you want renamed onto the "Get Specified Finder Items" workflow. They will be added to the list of files to be renamed. You can then click the "Run" button in the top-right corner of the window. Your original files will be renamed, leaving you with perfectly renamed files. You can now save your workflow.
Want more Mac Automation or AppleScript tutorials? Visit TUAW's Mac Automation and AppleScript sections.TUAWMac Automation: Rename multiple files efficiently originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Juxtaposer: Fun with photos on iPhone / iPod touch
Filed under: Humor, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Fans of Adobe Photoshop rejoice! Have you been waiting for a way to whip out your iPhone or iPod touch and be able to juxtapose Arnold Schwarzenegger's head onto Pamela Anderson's body? Your wait is over -- Juxtaposer (click opens iTunes) is now available in the App Store.
This $2.99 app is a lot of fun, as well as one of the best-executed compositing tools for a mobile device that I've ever seen. Features include:
- Unlimited undo, so no mistake or accidental brushstroke is permanent.
- Hard or soft brushes to create sharp or blurred edges.
- Smooth blends between images with transparent brushes.
- Red mask mode lets you accurately isolate part of one image without being distracted by the second image in the background.
- Translucent mode makes it easy to align your images precisely.
- The stamp tool lets you add multiple copies of your cut-out to your composite.
- Work in portrait or landscape orientation; optionally have images auto-rotate.
TUAWJuxtaposer: Fun with photos on iPhone / iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - First Look: Gas Cubby for iPhone
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, First Look
In August, TUAW provided you with a first look at an iPhone trip expense tracking app called Trip Cubby. Now developer David Barnard and his company App Cubby have released Gas Cubby (click opens iTunes).
Gas Cubby is an automobile maintenance manager. If you can't remember the last time you changed the oil, checked tire pressure, or performed other preventative maintenance, this may be the app for you.
Gas Cubby tracks gas mileage and vehicle maintenance, and creates charts of mileage, gas price, and gas and service expenses. All of the data can be emailed in Excel .csv (comma-delimited) text files for further analysis on your Mac or PC. You can set Gas Cubby to remind you to schedule service appointments based on mileage or date, and the app can track multiple vehicles.
If your car was stolen, would you know your VIN (vehicle identification number)? Probably not, so Gas Cubby can also store your VIN, license plate, and insurance policy info. Just don't leave your iPhone in the glove compartment.
The $4.99 app is full-featured, and App Cubby is getting a good reputation as a development firm that listens to customer needs. Check out the Gas Cubby website for more info and screenshots than you can shake a dipstick at.TUAWFirst Look: Gas Cubby for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iPod 101: Make your iPod speak menu items
Filed under: iPod Family, iPod nano, iPod classic
If you have a current generation iPod nano or classic, then you have the ability to access spoken menu items throughout the iPod. This is an accessibility feature that Apple built into the current iPod line, but I found that feature is handy while walking around, or driving, if you don't want to look at the iPod's screen.
To enable this feature, dock your iPod with your computer and open iTunes. Click your iPod under the Devices list, and select the General tab. If your iPod supports this feature, you should see an "Enable spoken menus for accessibility" checkbox under the "Options" section. Click this checkbox and sync your iPod. Depending on how much music you're syncing, generating the spoken menus could take a few minutes.
Once your iPod is finished syncing, you need to turn on spoken menus on the iPod. From the iPod menu, select Settings > General > Spoken Menus On/Off. When you roll over a song, menu item, or go into cover flow mode, the iPod will alert you with a spoken voice.
Additional Notes:
- You can change the voice that is used for the spoken menus by going into System Preferences > Speech > Text to Speech > and selecting a new system voice on your Mac. You will need to resync your iPod after you change the voice.
- You should note that not all menu items will be spoken, and some titles of songs won't be spoken properly. This is inherit of the Mac OS X Text to Speech engine.
- This feature is not currently available on iPod touch or iPhone.
Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and TUAW Tips sections.TUAWiPod 101: Make your iPod speak menu items originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - You can change the voice that is used for the spoken menus by going into System Preferences > Speech > Text to Speech > and selecting a new system voice on your Mac. You will need to resync your iPod after you change the voice.
- Pixelmator 1.3 Tempo is on the street
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Graphic Design
The team over at Pixelmator has announced the release of their much-awaited 1.3 version, which they've titled Tempo. TUAW did a preview of this version a while ago -- it features lots of back-end updates, making the app itself much, much faster, especially when handling large images. And it brings to the table a few things Pixelmator has promised since the app first came out, including the Magic Eraser functionality, and a few magic touches elsewhere (you can use almost any of the tools in the "magic" way, by clicking and then dragging until the program automatically fills in your selection).
There are also updates to the Hue and Saturation, Colorize, and Replace Color tools, and there's an auto-hide feature (that can be turned off) that clears out some of the clutter when you're working with important tools. As a Pixelmator user, I really like the update -- I'm not sure if it's quite enough to pull you into the app if you aren't already using it (and as we've said before, this is not an app for power Photoshop users), but if you're looking for a relatively light, very stylistic photo editor, it's definitely worth a trial again. You can pick one up over on their site.
TUAWPixelmator 1.3 Tempo is on the street originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iPhone Backup Extractor helps kill bugs dead
Filed under: Developer, iPhone
iPhone developer Pádraig Kennedy sent us news of this jewel of a tool: iPhone Backup Extractor, a way to read the backups that iTunes automatically makes for your iPhone or iPod touch using the Finder.
Kennedy already had a command-line tool to do this, but he wrapped an easy-to-use GUI around the whole process. Just select a backup, select an application, and away you go.
What makes this useful, writes ADC award-winning iPhone developer Craig Hockenberry, is that it allows developers to track down customer bugs that they can't reproduce themselves.
"You can instruct your customer to download the application, sync their device with iTunes and then have them select the latest backup and your application within that backup. ... Getting this information into your development environment is then just a matter of hacking around with the Simulator folder structure."
"The bug won't stand a chance at this point."
iPhone Backup Extractor is donationware, Leopard-only, and available directly from Kennedy's site (which has the best URL ever, incidentally).
TUAWiPhone Backup Extractor helps kill bugs dead originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Parallels 4 is released
Filed under: Software
Virtualization vendor Parallels has just released Parallels Desktop 4.0 for the Mac. Parallels Desktop is designed to let users run Windows (or Linux) on your Intel Mac within OS X.
The newest version of Parallels Desktop boasts better performance (Parallels is claiming a 50% increase over Parallels Desktop 3.0), better graphics, support for more OSs and support for up to 8 GB of RAM and 8 CPUs. Like VMWare Fusion 2.0, Parallels Desktop 4.0 also supports OS X 10.5 Leopard Server as a guest OS, and features experimental support for OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
Some of the other stand-out features:
- Ability to save screenshots across operating systems
- Remotely manage Windows VMs via the iPhone
- Direct X 9.0 and OpenGL 2.0 support and support for up to 256 MB of video RAM (you can see a list of supported games here)
- Parallels Virtual Appliance support
You can check out the full list of new features here. I'm converting my Parallels virtual machine to 4.0 right now and will post more thoughts on Parallels 4.0 and how it stacks up to other virtualization options from VMWare and VirtualBox in the next few days.
Parallels Desktop 4.0 is $79.99 and available now. Existing Parallels customers can upgrade for $39.99 through the end of November. If you purchased Parallels Desktop AFTER September 1, 2008, your upgrade is free.
TUAWParallels 4 is released originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - BoinxTV 1.0 released today
Filed under: Multimedia, Software
We had a little teaser for BoinxTV during WWDC this summer. If you missed it, it's a joint project between Boinx Software and The Coding Monkeys, aimed at smaller producers of video (video podcasters, school TV shows, anyone who doesn't have their own production studio ... ), with the goal of improving presentation and removing the need for any post-production.
BoinxTV 1.0 was released today after months of beta testing and nightly builds. It's stable, powerful and, most of all, fun. The easy-to-use system of layers, (which can consist of on-screen graphics, video sources, lower thirds, etc.) allows for simple setup and easy, live production of professional-quality video presentations. There are over 30 available layer types, all customizable, and custom layers can be created with Apple's Quartz Composer software (free with OS X). BoinxTV includes professional-grade chroma-keying which, with a decent green screen and lighting setup, makes transporting yourself or your cast to exotic locations a breeze.
The software is targeted at video producers who could benefit from losing the tedium of post-production. If you have an existing production setup and demand finite control, you'll probably want to stick with what you have. For educational institutions, video podcasters and anyone who needs a rapid transition from recording to publication, though, it's an ideal solution.
BoinxTV retails at $499. If your needs don't justify that kind of hefty price tag, a "sponsored" version is available for $199. The only requirement for using that version is that every production must credit BoinxTV. Not a bad tradeoff, really. A free demo is available, and the software is available for purchase today. Visit the BoinxTV page for more information.
TUAWBoinxTV 1.0 released today originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Searchlight goes native on the iPhone
Gravity Applications has released a native iPhone application to complement Searchlight, their remote search application based on Spotlight. Searchlight previously sported an iPhone-optimized web interface, and the native app builds on that. Some noteworthy benefits of the native app include storing logins for multiple servers, Bonjour discovery, and a speedier interface than Safari had provided. It also integrates a new feature found on the Searchlight server: the ability to send the files you locate to yourself or a third party via email.
The iPhone app is basic, but it provides a solid foundation for building a richer feature set as it develops, according to developer Niclas Bahn. We discussed some cool features already existing in some of the iPhone file management apps like FileMagnet and Briefcase (iTunes links), and he was excited about implementing some innovations of his own. It will be fun to watch it develop.
The Searchlight iPhone application is free, but requires Searchlight to be running on the computer you'd like search access to. Current users will want to upgrade their Searchlight server to the 2.1 release (the upgrade is free). If you weren't one of the lucky ten readers who got a free copy of Searchlight last time we mentioned it, and the $99 price tag was a bit too high, there's some good news: the price has dropped to $49USD. It may be a temporary price-drop, but it should last long enough for new users to take the demo for a spin and make an informed decision. Get it at Gravity's website, and happy searching!
TUAWSearchlight goes native on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Found Footage: Help test WordPress for iPhone 1.2
Filed under: Blogging, Open Source, Found Footage, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Have a WordPress blog? Own an iPhone or iPod touch? Have you been using WordPress for iPhone to update your blog from the comfort of your bathroom [insert your own visual image here]?
The WordPress community has been hard at work on the next release of WordPress for iPhone, and it will contain a ton of new features including:- Landscape mode with the extra wide keyboard
- Link creation help
- Support for editing and creating Pages
- Comment moderation
- Asynchronous publishing
- Photo resizing options
A video of WordPress for iPhone 1.2 in action with a beta of WordPress 2.7 is available with a quick click on the video window at the top of this post. For more information, visit the WordPress for iPhone page.
As with the previous versions, WordPress for iPhone 1.2 will be free. As soon as the beta test is complete and all bugs have been successfully squashed, the new version will be available via the App Store.TUAWFound Footage: Help test WordPress for iPhone 1.2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Ahem... where's the new In-Ear Headphones, Apple?
Filed under: iPod Family, Bad Apple, Apple
Some of you might remember the music event in September. Not only did Steve Jobs give us new iPods, but he also promised that Apple would be releasing new in-ear headphones in October. If anyone hasn't noticed, it's now mid-November, and there's no sign of the new headphones anywhere.
Has Apple simply abandoned the release of these new headphones? If history repeats itself, then we might get these sometime next year. When I contacted Apple's sales staff, they told me that there is "no set release date." You can check out the In-Ear Headphones store entry by clicking here; someday you might even be able to buy them for $79 US .
TUAWAhem... where's the new In-Ear Headphones, Apple? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - First Look: Ocarina for iPhone
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
If you're a Zelda nerd like most of us on the blog (not to mention any names), then you will most likely run out and buy the app we're about to discuss. Ocarina [iTunes link] is a new musical entry to the iTunes App Store that allows anyone to be just like Link in the Ocarina of Time (probably one of the best N64 games next to Super Mario 64... just sayin').
When you launch Ocarina.app, you are presented with four buttons that control the pitch. You make sounds with the Ocarina by blowing into the microphone on the iPhone. You control the pitch of the sound by pressing one, two, or all of the four blue buttons. The more air you blow through the mic, the louder the sound gets. You can also tilt your iPhone up/down to change the vibrato depth, and left/right to change the vibrato rate.
All of this is cool, but the real magic happens when you tap the green button just above the home button. A small menu appears, and allows you to tap on a globe. In the world view, you can hear other Ocarina players around the world as they toot along to jingles and their favorite songs. You can even rate the player's performance by tapping the little heart next to their name. If music isn't the player's forte, then press the fast forward button to skip them.
I've used the application over the weekend, and have really liked it so far. I would like to see a favorites list added. It would be nice to mark certain players as favorites and be able to instantly start listening to them again. You can purchase Ocarina from the iTunes App Store for $.99 (US). Note that you must have an iPhone to use this application (no iPod touch).TUAWFirst Look: Ocarina for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Remember the Milk for iPhone
Filed under: Software, Features, Reviews, iPhone, iPod touch
My search for the perfect software task management solution has been going on for a long time, and I think I've finally found the answer: Remember the Milk for iPhone (iTunes link). I've tried almost all of the big names in task managers: iGTD, Things, OmniFocus, and even Leopard's built-in todo functionality. None of them have met my needs.
For me, a task list needs to be ubiquitously available, and very quick and easy to interact with. For me, that means I need a native iPhone app, which immediately eliminates iGTD and Leopard's To Do list, since there is no iPhone equivalent. That leaves me with Things, OmniFocus, and RTM, all of which now have native iPhone apps.
One of my requirements is that my tasks synchronize to a web server, so that I don't need to have my laptop turned on to synchronize my tasks to my iPhone. This eliminated Things as a contender for me, since it currently only supports direct synchronizing over the same wireless network. OmniFocus had therefore been my de-facto task management tool due to its ability to synchronize both the Mac and iPhone versions to either MobileMe, or your own web server using WebDAV. The main problem I've had with OmniFocus on the iPhone is how incredibly slow it is to start up and synchronize. A recent update attempted to address this issue by allowing new tasks to be added while the synchronization was occurring, but it's still just not quick enough.Continue reading Remember the Milk for iPhone
TUAWRemember the Milk for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Tatomic brings great puzzler gameplay to the App Store
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Tatomic came to my attention the other day, and I finally gave it a shot this afternoon -- it's terrific. They've done what all game companies should do (and what Apple really needs to support on the actual App Store) and provided a free version [iTunes] to test out, and I can't really recommend it any more highly. It's a falling block game basically, very much like Lumines (which I really enjoy on Xbox Live) -- little spinning atom blocks drop in pairs, and you've got to match them up in certain numbers to clear them off the board. Pretty addictive gameplay, too -- the fact that you've only got two blocks dropping makes it simple, unless things start to pile up, and then you've really got to start thinking what goes where.
Controls are also done pretty well, but take a little getting used to (you basically touch corners of the screen to move, drop or turn the little atoms you're matching), but once you figure them out, you'll start dropping blocks like a maniac. If you finish up the first ten levels and still want more, there's a $4.99 version with three modes and thirty levels total. Excellent puzzler gameplay. I still would like to see a deeper game on the App Store, but for cheap puzzle thrills, Tatomic delivers.TUAWTatomic brings great puzzler gameplay to the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple releases iLife Support update to patch security issues
Filed under: Software Update, Security
Apple today released a security update for iLife '08, called iLife Support 8.3.1. The update "improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues," according to Apple. They recommend the update for all users of iLife '08 who are still using Tiger (up to Mac OS X 10.4.11). Leopard users are unaffected.
According to the Apple Knowledge Base, the update addresses three issues with ImageIO, a system component that allows applications to read and write popular image formats. Two of the issues were discovered by Apple, and concerned the way the component handled specially-created TIFF and JPEG images. Google found a third problem also related to meticulously-crafted TIFF images. All three issues, unpatched, could "lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution."
The update can be downloaded via Software Update, or directly from Apple.
TUAWApple releases iLife Support update to patch security issues originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Japan loves Apple, sales up there 39%
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Financial, Apple
Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog has the skinny on why Japan is so hot on Apple lately -- apparently Steve Jobs' little company has seen sales rise 39% in the land of the rising sun, even after a drop the last year.
Why is this? Apple's own report says iPods, Macs, and MacBooks are the culprits -- sales of Macs specifically are jumping up the charts. At the same time, reports are saying that sales of the iPhone have slowed there after a big burst at debut (while sales here are still through the roof).
Seems like there's an upsurge on American electronics in Japan in general. Any of you armchair analysts want to guess why Apple is doing better there?TUAWJapan loves Apple, sales up there 39% originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Flickr Find: FakeBook Nano
Gizmodo found these pictures of a customized MSI Wind laptop that comes complete with glossy finishes, Apple logos and Mac OS X. The laptops feature the name "MacBook Nano."
The laptops have 10-inch screens, 2GB of RAM, 320GB hard disks, a flash media reader, and the specifications feature Windows XP Professional and Mac OS X 10.5.5.
Gizmodo notes that they can't tell if the laptops are a custom hack, or are being illegally sold. Descriptions on the images appear to be in Chinese, so if you can let us know what they say, be so kind as to leave us a comment!
TUAWFlickr Find: FakeBook Nano originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Papermaster hire on hold; IBM wins injunction
Filed under: Apple Corporate
Apple's quest to replace outgoing iPod and iPhone VP Tony Fadell has run into a major roadblock: a federal district judge has granted IBM an injunction, forbidding former IBMer Mark Papermaster from joining Apple's ranks, at least for now.
The story is a classic HR nightmare. According to a timeline at Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog, once he was offered a "once in a lifetime" position at Apple, Papermaster indicated he was going to resign at IBM. IBM executives then offered Papermaster a "substantial increase" in pay to entice him to stay. Papermaster declined, and quit.
The next day, IBM filed their suit with the Southern District of New York, alleging that Papermaster is in violation of the non-compete clause of his employment contract.
Papermaster claims in a counter-filing that Apple and IBM are in two totally different businesses: The former a consumer products company, the latter a high-end server manufacturer. Uh huh.
Pundit Robert X. Cringely speculates that tapping Papermaster for the iPod/iPhone job was duplicitous, and Apple intends to move Papermaster into the lead position at the newly-acquired PA Semi division once the yearlong non-compete clause of his IBM contract expires.
Apple said in a statement to Reuters that Apple "... will comply with the court's order but are confident that Mark Papermaster will be able to ultimately join Apple when the dust settles."
TUAWPapermaster hire on hold; IBM wins injunction originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Mac 101: Active Screen Corners
Filed under: Mac 101
New to the Mac? Welcome back to our Mac 101 series, which explores the basics of Mac OS X, provides tips and tricks, and dives into key features of Apple's bundled tools.
If you've ever had a panicked moment at work when you need to clear your screen quickly (because you're working on a colleague's birthday card, of course!), Active Screen Corners are for you. They can also activate your screen saver, and help you manage Spaces and Exposé.
To use Active Screen Corners, first open System Preferences (by selecting it from the Apple Menu). Then, click the "Exposé & Spaces" icon.
In the Exposé tab, you'll see there are four corners that you can activate. To use an Active Screen Corner, just move your mouse all the way into that corner. To reverse the action, just move your mouse out of, and then back into, the same corner.
For each corner, there are several handy options. Read on to see what you can do with your Active Screen Corners.
Continue reading Mac 101: Active Screen Corners
TUAWMac 101: Active Screen Corners originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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