Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) (24 сообщения)

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  • iPhone coming to South Korea

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    After much delay, the iPhone is finally coming to South Korea. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) had been requiring handsets to use the locally-built WIPI mobile platform. Earlier this week, that changed:

    "
    ...considering global industry trends toward the use of general-purpose mobile operating systems, we concluded that there was a need to allow carriers the freedom to decide whether to use WIPI or not,'' said Shin Yong-sub, the director of KCC's policy bureau.

    This restriction prevented many foreign manufacturers, like Apple, from selling handsets in South Korea. So, what happens now? First off, it looks like carriers
    KTF and SK Telecom will be handling the iPhone in South Korea. Finally, would-be customers will still have to wait until next spring, as the rule requiring WIPI will be effective until April of 2009. But that's better than "never," right?

    [Via MacDailyNews]

    TUAWiPhone coming to South Korea originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Strong chess game for the iPhone/touch

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    Chess goes way back in our history, maybe as far back as 100 A.D., and beautiful chess pieces were found in Scotland dating back to 1200 A.D. Tournaments started in the 15th or 16th century, so along with death and taxes, chess has been around a long time.

    With the coming of powerful computers, chess was a natural to test how those 'thinking' machines could do against humans. I think the first computer vs. human chess game was in 1950 written by Alan Turing. Of course, there was Deep Blue (from IBM) which defeated world champion Gary Kasparov in 1997.

    Chess-playing computers have also played some key parts in movies ... like the WOPR computer in "War Games", and of course HAL-9000 won a game in "2001-A Space Odyssey". It's said the creators of the film, Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick put in a chess playing computer as a joke because they thought no computer would ever play chess well.

    Well, chess is played pretty well by computers now, and a fine, fine application has just been released to the iPhone app store. It's called Deep Green [iTunes link], a tribute to Deep Blue and the 'green' I expect comes from the applications origins for the Newton. The creator of the program, Joachim Bondo wrote Deep Green for Apple's ill-fated PDA, and a few days after Deep Green appeared, the Newton was pulled off the market.

    Well, Deep Green is back, and is certainly a powerful chess partner. You can play against Deep Green, and adjust the strength of the chess engine. You can play against another person, or you can watch Deep Green play against itself.

    Chess mavens will like that you can set up the game board manually, and you can take back moves or watch them again. The animation is very smooth and the chess pieces are very nicely rendered. I played a few games against Deep Green and it pretty much put me out of my misery quickly. When it takes one of my pieces, it vibrates to make sure I don't miss the bad news. If you quit the game before it is completed, it nicely saves it's state and lets you resume where you left off. (Or you can always resign.) Deep Green will also play back a previous game with full animation and you can control the speed.

    Features I'd like to see added are iPhone to iPhone games, either over the internet or a wireless LAN.

    The game is on sale through December for 4.99 but after the holidays it goes for 7.99. Another chess game that gets good reviews at the app store is Cyber Chess Ultimate, which is an online chess application but I have not tried it.

    If you're into chess, I think you'll like Deep Green. It just might be 'checkmate' for iPhone/iPod touch chess games.

    TUAWStrong chess game for the iPhone/touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • OpenCL 1.0 ratified; is Snow Leopard now ready for launch?

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    There's been quiet anticipation for the last 6 months for OpenCL (Open Computing Language), which is an Application Programming Interface standard allowing developers to take advantage of the power of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) in parallel with multi-core processors. The result? Applications become much faster and responsive.

    Apple announced in June that support for OpenCL would be built into Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6). The Khronos Group, an industry consortium that creates open-standard, royalty-free APIs, put OpenCL on the fast track as a result, and announced yesterday that OpenCL 1.0 has been ratified by all of the consortium members.

    Now that OpenCL has been officially blessed by the members of the consortium, could Snow Leopard be close behind? There has been speculation that the latest iteration of Mac OS X could be released as soon as Macworld Expo 2009 in early January. Snow Leopard, along with an announcement of quad-core iMacs, could throw a little fire into what is becoming an increasing chilly Expo. TUAW is attending Macworld Expo 2009 in force this year, so stay tuned for the latest news about Snow Leopard.

    TUAWOpenCL 1.0 ratified; is Snow Leopard now ready for launch? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • iPhone is #3 on Time's gadgets list

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    Apple has long been a darling of Time Magazine's tech writers. Just take a look at the history
    Heck, even the Nike+ iPod kit was nominated for Gadget of the Year in 2006. This year, the iPhone is listed at number 3 on Time's year-end list, "The Top 10 Everything." I guess it was due for a slip (not that 3rd place on a list counting "everything" is bad!). Second place went to the Mitsubishi LaserVue 65-inch HDTV, while the Optoma Pico PK-101 sits at the top spot.

    The Pico, a pocket-sized projector for the iPod, first caught our attention in November. Optoma has priced it at $399US and suggested a shipping date of early next year.

    So what accounted for the iPhone's slip? Time claims an email experience inferior to that on a Blackberry as well as average performance as a cell phone.


    [Via MacNN]

    TUAWiPhone is #3 on Time's gadgets list originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • How to stream your iTunes library across the web for free

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    Mac OS X users and faithful readers of TUAW know that there is great power found in the command-line, but one of the greatest advantages of OS X's UNIX heritage is the secure shell (SSH) client and server. From the Apple Matters article on SSH tunnels for the common man "SSH is a network protocol that provides secure communication between two computers." Its power comes from the ability to create an encrypted tunnel through which a client can send many types of internet traffic.

    The Lifehacker article on setting up an SSH server covers the steps necessary to roll your own SSH server whether you are running Windows or OS X. Parts one and two of the Apple Matters series on SSH tunnels provide a lot of useful information on SSH as well as creating an SSH tunnel for encrypting traffic. One such use that has not yet been covered is how it is possible to stream your iTunes library across the internet while using software that is either built-in or available for free.

    This tutorial will get pretty technical and assumes that you already have an SSH server and you know how to access it from a remote location (e.g. from work). If you are already past the point of just setting up an SSH server and are asking yourself "what now?" then read on to find out how you too can listen to your tunes at work even though they are trapped at home.

    Continue reading How to stream your iTunes library across the web for free

    TUAWHow to stream your iTunes library across the web for free originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • With new claims, Psystar tries another angle

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    You have to admire Psystar's tenacity. Since Judge William Alsup's decision to disallow federal antitrust claims against Apple in Psystar's countersuit, Psystar is amending its countersuit, alleging the misuse of copyright based on different antitrust claims.

    It boggles the mind.

    Apple is already suing Psystar, of course, claiming that they are violating Mac OS X's End User License Agreement (EULA). Psystar, in its new set of counterclaims, says that Apple is improperly extending the scope of copyright law to include its argument that Psystar broke the EULA.

    Psystar claims that -- while admitting that it can't make arguments based on federal antitrust law -- Apple has "leveraged" the power granted them by the Copyright Act and extended it to lock in users post-sale. This, Psystar says, is unlawfully monopolistic, and makes Apple's copyrights unenforceable.

    Psystar is also seeking to prove that Apple's behavior is illegal under California's unfair competition statute.

    The judge will decide in January if the new claims can be argued in court.

    [Via Ars Technica.]

    TUAWWith new claims, Psystar tries another angle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Very useful iPhone tips

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    The blog Tap Tap Tap has posted a wonderful list to 10 iPhone tips and tricks you should know, including taking a screenshot (here's our how-to on that trick) enabling caps lock and customizing the home button's function. Definitely check it out.

    While we're on the topic, here are a few of our own favorites
    Is your favorite trick not on either list? Let us know!

    TUAWVery useful iPhone tips originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • iPhone mail: the sequel

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    In my post yesterday I whined quite a bit about how it was hard to get control of mail on the iPhone because there was not a unified mailbox. The post obviously struck a nerve, because there were lots of responses and in our little poll most people seemed to agree that mail was pretty much a mess and needed some love from the Apple development team.

    There were also many people who made very valid comments about other things that were missing from mail, and I wanted to share those as well. Here they are, in no particular order.

    • Mail needs to allow searching. With a lot of messages things are difficult to find. (The people who invented Spotlight on OS X shouldn't find that too difficult)
    • People want individual signatures for each email account. Again, not rocket science.
    • Many readers wanted to see quick on-screen buttons to move expeditiously from one mail account to another.
    • Others wanted to make sure accounts stayed separate. I agree with this, I just wanted a visual or virtual joining of the messages so I would not have to finger dance all over the screen to navigate between accounts. In other words, the way it works in Apple Mail in Leopard.
    • Finally, as with all things software, people wanted software switches to turn these features on and off.
    It may be that Apple is just getting these features ready for the next iPhone software update, or they may still be ignoring these issues. I have to think if they are using their iPhones at all over in Cupertino, these items will be high on their list of fixes.

    Thanks to all who participated in the poll -- even those who thought everything was just dandy in iPhone mail.

    TUAWiPhone mail: the sequel originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • MacFUSE updated to 2.0 now includes 64-bit and Snow Leopard support

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    MacFUSE is awesome. It allows you to mount a remote server's filesystem, view your iTunes library in Finder, read from and write to NTFS hard drives, and much more! With all of this functionality crammed into a free product one would think it could not get any better. Amazingly, it has.

    The latest version of MacFUSE was released yesterday and with it comes several new features, including 64-bit support for Leopard systems with 64-bit processors, experimental support for the impending release of Mac OS X 10.6 (AKA Snow Leopard), and even a new preference pane that eases the installation and upgrade procedure of MacFUSE. The preference pane is a GUI for the Install/Update Engine introduced in version 1.7 for the purpose of providing developers a simpler mechanism for distributing MacFUSE with their FUSE filesystem packages. More information about what is included can be found in the project's changelog.

    MacFUSE is a free download and, unlike the previous release, includes support for 10.4 and 10.5 in the same package.

    [via Lifehacker]

    TUAWMacFUSE updated to 2.0 now includes 64-bit and Snow Leopard support originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Apple applies for trademark on the "Grand Central" Snow Leopard feature

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    When Apple announced Snow Leopard, they also detailed a new developer service that can be used to full take advantage of the dual cores in newer Intel Macs. The Apple website tells us the following about GrandCentral:

    Grand Central takes full advantage [of the processor cores] by making all of Mac OS X multicore aware and optimizing it for allocating tasks across multiple cores and processors. Grand Central also makes it much easier for developers to create programs that squeeze every last drop of power from multicore systems.

    MacNN is reporting that Apple applied for a trademark on the name "Grand Central" under USPTO serial number 77626943. The trademark was filed under "009" classification, which is "computer software; computer operating system software."

    We can only wonder if this trademark filing will cause an uproar from Google, who acquired the Grand Central telephony service.

    Continue reading to see a screenshot of the trademark filing.

    [via MacNN]

    Continue reading Apple applies for trademark on the "Grand Central" Snow Leopard feature

    TUAWApple applies for trademark on the "Grand Central" Snow Leopard feature originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Music video shot entirely on an iPhone

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    Behold, what is claimed to be the world's first music video shot entirely on an iPhone.

    This gem comes to us from GOSHone, A self-described "mad scientist with computers, gadgets, and musical equipment and stuff," G1 used his jailbroken iPhone and a copy of Cycorder to produce what I can only describe as a little slice of wonderful. I can't verify with any certainty that this is, in fact, the "world's first," but I'm going to go with it.

    GOSHone says that, while making the video was fun and relatively pain-free, he did struggle with the lack of a preview screen, and "tried to rely on the shiny black back and the chrome Apple logo for reflection." That's a simple, clever trick I hadn't thought of, mostly because I always have a case on my iPhone.

    Have a look at his video, then download his free album. It's good stuff.

    Thanks to Valerie for sending this in.

    TUAWMusic video shot entirely on an iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Found Footage: Instaviz, graph sketching app for iPhone

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    I spend a lot of my time with a dry erase marker and whiteboard sketching diagrams for clients. I draw use case diagrams, flow charts, mind maps, you name it. On my Macs, I use the shape tools in Pages to draw my diagrams, but I often wish for a tool that would let me sketch charts on my iPhone.

    Instaviz (click opens iTunes), from Pixelglow Software, is exactly what the doctor ordered. You can sketch out a rough shape (circle, rectangle, square, diamond, or triangle) with your finger, and Instaviz "cleans up" your sketch by turning it into a clean, symmetrical shape. Links between shapes are done by just dragging a finger between the shapes, and Instaviz automatically enters a straight or curved line to connect the shapes.

    You can choose colors for the different shapes and lines through a color picker, zoom in or out using the familiar iPhone two-finger pinch/reverse-pinch gestures, add or edit labels, and scroll around your diagram. To erase objects, you tap on them and then shake the iPhone "Etch-A-Sketch" style.

    The US$9.99 app can export graphs to a MobileMe iDisk or any WebDAV server in DOT/GV or PDF format. Here's a video showing the app in action:

    TUAWFound Footage: Instaviz, graph sketching app for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • An Apple in your kitchen

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    "Welcome to Audrey." With those three words, I experienced my first Internet appliance. 3Com's Audrey was meant to deliver lightweight "internet snacking" from a user's kitchen, and offered email and internet access, a calendar and contacts database, plus synchronization of up to two Palm devices. It had a touch-sensitive screen, wireless keyboard and a clear plastic stylus that would glow green when new mail arrived.

    Unfortunately for 3Com, the Audrey was launched immediately prior to the dot-com collapse, and was discontinued just seven months into its initial run. I picked one up on eBay a few weeks ago for ten bucks, and it's been fun to play with. I can't help but wonder what would have become of it if 3Com had received user feedback and time to develop a second version. We'll never know, but perhaps the Chumby holds hints.

    My experience with the Audrey has got me thinking about the inevitable synergy between computers, household appliances and many of the tools we use every day. For instance, my car told me that one of its tires needed air recently. A friend's refrigerator has been beeping to get her attention since Monday (she's a very patient person).

    TiVo has completely changed the way I consume TV shows, as the Apple TV has for others. How many of the shows you watch are "time-shifted?" For me it's at least half. As we said in a recent talkcast, the computer and television will eventually merge into a single device. The process has begun for sure, but I don't think it's complete.

    But let's get back to the kitchen. Like many of you, that's where my day begins. Upon waking, the first thing I do is make breakfast for myself and the kids. Then I glance at the calendar on the refrigerator, as well as any flyers, etc. that have been posted there. As the pancakes are sizzling, I'll wander over to the computer to give the morning's email a cursory glance, and maybe hop on Newsvine. Then it's back to the stove to flip the pancakes.

    Click below to read more....

    Continue reading An Apple in your kitchen

    TUAWAn Apple in your kitchen originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Microsoft updates Office 2008, Office 2004

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    Today, Microsoft released updates for both Office 2008 for Mac, and Office 2004. These two updates fix several vulnerabilities within Office and add improvements.

    Microsoft Office 2008 Update 12.1.5
    This update contains several improvements to enhance stability, compatibility, and performance. In addition, this update includes fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code. For more information about this update, please visit the Microsoft Web site.

    This update weighs in at 104 MB and can be downloaded from the Microsoft Office 2008 update website, or through Automatic Update (by choosing Help > Check for Updates from any Office application).

    Microsoft Office 2004 Update 11.5.3
    This update contains several improvements to enhance stability and performance. In addition, this update includes fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code. For more information about this update, please visit the Microsoft Web site.

    This update is 15MBs, and can be downloaded from the Microsoft Office 2004 update website, or through Microsoft Automatic Update.

    Update: Release notes for the Office 2008 12.1.5 update have now been posted. You can find them here.

    [via @Schwieb on Twitter]

    TUAWMicrosoft updates Office 2008, Office 2004 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Sony lays off 16,000; will close factories

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    Sony announced today it plans to lay off 16,000 workers, close a handful of factories and reduce electronics investment by a third, as their comeback effort falls apart. Sony is both Apple's competitor in the mobile phone market and their partner for computer components, including batteries.

    "Five or six" factories will be closed, with only one named so far: Sony Dax Technology Center, in France. Several other factories in Japan will be closed, and one other abroad, according to the IDG News Service.

    8,000 full-time employees will be laid off, along with another 8,000 temps and contractors. Those 16,000 people represent about nine percent of their workforce.

    Forbes.com's announcement of the layoffs attributed some of Sony's loss of revenue to Apple's dominance in the music player market, a torch Sony once carried.

    Sony hopes the moves will save them a billion dollars going into its next fiscal year, which starts in April.

    TUAWSony lays off 16,000; will close factories originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Backblaze beta launches for Mac: We have invites!

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    Update 3: Backblaze is looking into why some users were receiving errors when trying to install the application. They've temporarily shut-down the beta page to investigate. The first 300 users to sign-up will still receive invites. Go ahead and enter your e-mail address and Backblaze will e-mail you as soon as they can let you into the beta.

    If you already signed up and had problems installing, try installing again and it should work!
    /update

    Backup your data. It's the one piece of tech advice that just can't be given enough. Backup your data. At this point, I think most computer users know that it is important to backup. Mac users running Leopard have it even easier, thanks to Time Machine and devices like the Time Capsule. Still, for whatever reason, there are plenty of people, smart people (though we hear Scott is finally backing up properly now) -- who don't have an adequate backup solution. If the geeks can't do it, how can we expect our parents to?

    This is why online backup systems are so intriguing. With internet access being pretty much ubiquitous and getting faster and faster and data storage getting so cheap, it makes sense to consider backing up to the cloud. Not only does it free you from having to be connected to a hard drive, in the event of a true data disaster, the data is someplace else. As someone who backs up her backup drives, this is an enticing possibility.

    Today, Backblaze, who has already had a subscription backup service available for Windows users (see Download Squad's take) is launching a private beta for its Mac backup service. For $5 a month (or $50 a year), you get unlimited backup space. And unlimited is really unlimited. I asked Gleb Budman, the co-founder and CEO of Backblaze, and he assured me that there are no arbitrary data limits.

    Although the service is in private beta, Backblaze was nice enough to give TUAW readers 300 invites so that you can try out the service for yourself. Just go to http://www.backblaze.com/tuaw_mac and you can try the service for free for two weeks. If you decide you like it, it's $5 a month (or $50 a year).

    Read on for more details about the service and my take on it as a backup strategy...

    Continue reading Backblaze beta launches for Mac: We have invites!

    TUAWBackblaze beta launches for Mac: We have invites! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • 10.5.6 update still a work in progress

    Filed under: ,

    Although they speculated that Mac OS X 10.5.6 (not to be confused with 10.6, "Snow Leopard") could arrive by November 21, there is still work to be done on the release, according to Ars Technica's David Chartier.

    Apple is asking reviewers of this latest build, 9G52, to test MobileMe's automatic syncing on "networks with medium-to-high latency or constrained bandwidth." Apple might be trying to improve MobileMe syncing; anecdotal evidence suggests that for many, syncing is still not up to snuff.

    Second, Apple wants users of non-Latin languages like Hangul, Kototeri, Traditional Chinese, Cyrillic, Hebrew and Arabic to use Mail, in order to test its support of non-Latin character sets.

    Even so, 9G52 fixes over 100 issues. Full notes on the build are available in the second part of this story.

    There's no word on when the update will be released, but we'll likely have to be patient for a little while longer. Like my mom always said when baking, "it'll be ready when it's finished."

    Continue reading 10.5.6 update still a work in progress

    TUAW10.5.6 update still a work in progress originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • FluidTunes: The "wave" of the future?

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    Majic Jungle Software has released FluidTunes, a program designed to let you navigate and play your music in iTunes without touching the computer. It's an interesting idea that almost sounds it should have come from the depths of Apple itself. After all, what's next after making multi-touch available to the masses thanks to the iPhone?

    FluidTunes works by using iSight to track your hand gestures as you navigate through the program. You make a side to side sweep to browse through your iTunes library in Cover Flow mode. Then, you wave at the play and pause buttons to start and stop the music.

    It's an interesting concept, but the execution is rather sloppy. You need to be in a fairly well-lit room for iSight to register the gestures correctly. My first attempt at using FluidTunes was in the kitchen in full natural daylight, and it worked fairly well. It was easy to wave from side to side to browse my music. However, I kept accidentally activating the play and stop buttons. When I waved at the play and stop buttons, they didn't work. Pointing at the buttons worked better, but as I dropped my hand away, it would either activate another button or I'd accidentally scroll to another song. Using the program in poor light is even worse. My second test area was in the living room with the lights dimmed. The program wouldn't stop scrolling through my library, and nothing would activate the play and pause buttons.

    FluidTunes is an interesting concept that I think has a lot of potential, but needs a bit of work. It's something that currently needs a lot of light to operate, so it wouldn't be ideal for use in situations such as controlling your music from bed before falling asleep. If Majic Jungle can fine tune the controls for use in various lighting situations, it could open up a lot of possibilities for this sort of program.

    FluidTunes is a free download and runs on a Universal Binary. It requires OS X 10.4.11 or higher.

    Many thanks to everyone who sent this in!

    TUAWFluidTunes: The "wave" of the future? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • TUAW Exclusive: Nnooo's Pop for iPhone

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    Pop is a new game coming soon to the iPhone by a company called Nnooo, and TUAW got an exclusive look at the new app before the official announcement of the release later today. As you can see from the video preview above, it's a very simple, very casual game, but nevertheless offers some fun and quick touchscreen gameplay.

    Pop was originally released on WiiWare, the Nintendo Wii's downloadable content service, and I was wrong in the video -- there are no PC or Mac versions out currently, so the App Store is the second platform the game will appear on. I also show off a similar "game" called Bubbles, put together by Jesse Grosjean (maker of Taskpaper and Writeroom) for his three-year old daughter (I said six in the video, but she's younger than that). Pop runs with that idea of popping bubbles and turns it into a timed and scored game that turns out to be pretty fun.

    Click the link below to read more about Pop, including some features that aren't shown off in the video above.

    Update: Pop is now available on the App Store.

    Continue reading TUAW Exclusive: Nnooo's Pop for iPhone

    TUAWTUAW Exclusive: Nnooo's Pop for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • PromoAppCode hopes to be one-stop shop for iPhone promo codes

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    It's no secret that the current methods of trying out iPhone applications before purchase is very cumbersome. While Apple has bestowed the ability for developers to issue promo codes, there is still the matter of taking the time to actually track down those codes for applications that you want to try.

    The folks at TickleSpace Inc. hope to make this process a bit easier by providing a place where developers can directly connect with potential customers and give them those promo codes. PromoAppCode.com recently opened its doors to developers, and TickleSpace hopes that the site will be an easier way for people to try out apps.

    "With 10k+ apps in the store now, developers want more ways to get noticed and power users want more ways to find and get great apps," said TickleSpace's Amanuel Tewolde.

    When you sign up for the forum, users can peruse the list of applications available in the forums and add the apps they want to try to a wish list. Developers can view user wish lists and send them the promo code directly, Tewolde said. Developers will also be able to keep track of the codes they've issued and who has listed their apps on their wish list. They would also be able to communicate directly with those users for feedback, an incentive for developers to try the site, Tewolde said

    As of Monday night, there was several pages of applications available. I added one to my wish list and we'll see what happens in the next few days. It's an interesting idea, and definitely one method of getting promo codes out to a willing group of testers. However, there's still some limitations - mainly the Apple-imposed ones. Developers only give away 50 codes per application version, and demand can quickly exceed available codes. What do you think of this method of distributing promo codes? What other methods do you think would work? Let us know in the comments!

    TUAWPromoAppCode hopes to be one-stop shop for iPhone promo codes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Pssst. Want to win a 1.5TB SATA drive?

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    Volitans Software has announced a giveaway to publicize their hard disk diagnostic utility, SMART Utility for Mac. Between now and 11:59 PM EST on December 24th, you can enter a giveaway in which the winner gets a choice of either a new Momentus 5400.6 SATA 500GB laptop hard drive or a Barracuda 7200.11 SATA 1.5TB desktop drive.

    You don't need to purchase SMART Utility or even try out the software to enter, although Volitans would be happy if you download a free trial. SMART Utility provides more information than the SMART Status in Apple's Disk Utility, including predictive fault detection that can inform you that a drive is about to fail. Disk Utility only gives you an indication when your drive has already failed. While you could always run smartmontools from the command line, SMART Utility displays drive information in a clear, easy-to-read format.

    Only one entry per person is allowed, and the winner will be announced on Christmas Day. Another 1.5TB of storage for the pile 'o equipment in my home office sounds like an incredible Christmas present!


    TUAWPssst. Want to win a 1.5TB SATA drive? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Mac Update offers holiday bundle

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    In the midst of the holiday shopping season, MacUpdate is in the process of offering their Holiday Bundle. MacUpdate tells us that their new purchasing system now allows purchases to be gifted, and in this particular bundle if you purchase three copies, you'll receive a fourth free.

    The bundle is selling for $49.99US, and includes the following applications at a hefty discount:
    If you're looking for a last minute holiday gift idea for the Mac user in your life, consider MacUpdate's Holiday Promo. The deal runs through December 18, and can be purchased/gifted through the MU Promo website.


    Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

    TUAWMac Update offers holiday bundle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Yet another introduction

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    Todd Ritter IntroGreetings, TUAW faithful! I'm Todd, and after writing for Download Squad for a year, I'm fortunate enough to be able to write for TUAW. A MacBook Pro is my primary machine and I'm rarely without my iPhone 3G (who isn't?).

    By day I'm a systems admin for a school district in central Pennsylvania where I manage a network of about 1400 PC's, 600 Macs, and 35 servers (a handful of which run Mac OS X). I handle all of the Mac client management, system imaging, and podcast-related functions.

    In addition to my day job, a few nights a month I teach at a local career institute covering topics like Apache administration, Active Directory management, and Cisco configuration. I get to work with small classes in hands-on environments which allow the students to get a taste of the real "IT" world.

    Drawing from these experiences, I hope to offer insightful articles ranging from the use of Apple products in the classroom to creating Mac system images for mass deployment. I look forward to interacting, sharing, and learning from you and the other great TUAW writers!

    TUAWYet another introduction originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • First Look: Sharecard for iPhone

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    Since the iPhone introduction, many users have wanted the ability to send an receive vCards. There have been plenty of vCard sending applications on the App Store, but one that recently caught my attention was Sharecard [iTunes link]. The application has a nice user interface, and allows you to easily send a vCard through email.

    When you first launch the application, you are able to set the default vCard to send. When you navigate back to the vCard tab, and tap the "Send Card" button, you will have the option to send the card via email. In the email section, you can either type in a new email address, or select an email address from your contacts.

    This application does make sending card very easy, but for the price I would like to see more functionality. For instance, it would be nice to send one card to multiple people. Also, the vCards are delivered through the developer's mail servers (which is a do-not-reply account) -- I would like the email to be sent from the default mail account on my iPhone, as the recipient would be more aware of who the card is from. However, as it is, the application is very useful, and just plain works. You can download Sharecard from the iTunes App Store for $1.99US.

    TUAWFirst Look: Sharecard for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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