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- iPhone ... in an iPhone
Filed under: Humor, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone
Here's a nice post-Christmas mind bender for you -- it's created by a company named Ogmento (they specialize in augmented reality applications -- get it?) and is an iPhone app that creates an augmented reality version of the iPhone. In other words, they put an iPhone in your iPhone so you can iPhone while you iPhone. Dawg.
Why did they do this? Apparently it's a promotion for the iPhone launch by Orange Telecom in Israel. But it's pretty crazy -- the iPhone inside the app even runs apps, though they're just still pictures. And it's a little disappointing that you interact with the fake iPhone via the real iPhone's touchscreen. If it really was an augmented reality demonstration, wouldn't you interact with the augmented reality iPhone just by moving your hand in the air where it should be?
Maybe that's too mind-melting after a relaxing Christmas day. At any rate, enjoy the crazy video above. This isn't anything we'll see coming to the App Store any time soon, we're sure, but it's just the kind of thing to get your mind up and running again after all that egg nog and holiday cheer.TUAWiPhone ... in an iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone - AppStore - Apple - TUAW - Ogmento
Переслать - Homebrew, the perfect gift for command line lovers
Filed under: Cool tools, Odds and ends, Freeware, Terminal Tips
If you're an OS X user who spends as much time on the command line as you do in the GUI, you're probably familiar with the MacPorts and Fink package management projects, making open source software easier to compile and run on Mac OS X. You may also be well-aware of the shortcomings of these projects when it comes to future-proof package management. A new, open source project called Homebrew may be exactly what you've been looking for. If you're not a lover of all things CLI, send a link to Homebrew as a great (free) last-minute gift for the Terminal-lover in your life.
My favorite thing about Homebrew is its ability to function perfectly well with /usr/local as its base directory, installing packages in their own folders but linking them to /usr/local/command. This makes them manageable with existing command line tools. Homebrew can work out of any directory you like, if /usr/local isn't your cup of tea. Installed packages are optimized and stripped based on your architecture, and makes great use of libraries you already have installed or that came with the system, reducing duplication and speeding up download, compile and install times significantly. Add in the zero-config installation, an already-extensive list of "formulas" (packages), a greatly-reduced need to
sudoanything, and a Ruby-based framework for creating your own formulae and you've got a killer package for extending your command line toolset.Homebrew is available for free on GitHub, and the main page has complete instructions for various types of installation (and reasons why you'd pick each one). Check it out, and have a merry CLI-mas!
TUAWHomebrew, the perfect gift for command line lovers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - It's a Merry Christmas for AAPL shareholders, stock at all-time high
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Financial
On December 14th, I posted an opinion piece sharing my thoughts that AAPL stock would hit $300 a share in a year (for which I received quite a lot of critical feedback). Two days later, on December 16th, Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty issued a report stating she believes there is a 25% chance that AAPL will be between $325 and $435 in the next twelve months (she also believes it could fall to $150 if Google's Android takes off and Apple drops the ball).
Huberty based her bullish outlook on the scenario that iPhone sales are on pace to capture 10-15% of the handset market by 2012 - and this doesn't even include soaring Mac sales or the impending iSlate.
Well, the stock isn't at $325 yet, but on December 24th, AAPL did close at an all-time high of $209.04. Not bad considering on December 8th, the stock was down almost 8% on its previous high of $208 on November 16th. Christmas Eve's 3.4% one-day gain was driven primarily by the news that Apple has booked the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for an event on January 26th.
So, where does the stock go from here? Traditionally, there is an early-January slide for AAPL that coincides with the "buy on rumor, sell on news" MacWorld Expo event, but since MacWorld is going to be Apple-free from now on, who knows if that will happen this year. And even if the early January slide hits AAPL, the company has so much going for it besides the rumored iSlate, I'm beginning to think my $300 target is rather conservative. But that's the future. For now the $209 share price is a nice Christmas gift.
Disclaimer: This author owns shares in AAPL. Opinions in this post are those of the author only and should not be considered as investment advice.TUAWIt's a Merry Christmas for AAPL shareholders, stock at all-time high originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dozen Daily Deals for December 25, 2009
'Tis the season to shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy!
- Apple Store: [iMac] Refurbished Apple iMac 22" LED-Backlit Desktops from $999 + free shipping, more
- Shop4Tech: [Digital Camcorders] 4GB Pen DVR Digital Camcorder for $33 + free shipping
- iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] Mega Man II for iPhone downloads for $1
- Best Buy: [Media Receivers] Sling Media SlingCatcher Digital Media Receiver for $100 + $7 s&h
- Swift Ink: [Printer Supplies] Swiftink.com coupons: 40% off Canon, Epson, and Brother ink
- MidnightBox: [Computer Speakers] Refurbished Logitech AudioHub Laptop Speaker for $19 + $4 s&h
- Cellular Factory: [Cell Phone Accessories] Cellular Factory Roundup: Dual Cigarette Lighter Adapter for $1 + free shipping, more
- Buy.com: [iPhone] Sunpak iCharge Case and Battery for Apple iPhone for $50 + free shipping
- B&H Photo Video: [Digital SLR Cameras] Nikon D3000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera w/ lens for $450 + free shipping
- Sam's Club: [40" - 42" LCD TVs] Philips 42" 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $598 + free shipping
- HandHeldItems: [Cell Phone Accessories] HandHeldItems.com: Up to 80% off HTC cell phone accessories + 30% off coupon
- Staples: [USB Hard Drives] Seagate Expansion 640GB Portable USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for $100 + free shipping
TUAWDozen Daily Deals for December 25, 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Two GPS app updates for travelers
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch
News in the GPS world keeps swirling around, and for downloaders it's not too late to get some holiday GPS cheer. Here's a couple of updates of note.
First, Gokivo [iTunes link] just announced a new pricing option that allows you to download Gokivo for just $0.99 for the first 30 days, and then pay $4.99 per month/$39.99 a year for service from then on out. We reviewed the app in November. It was middle of the road (pardon the pun) in performance and features, but it does have live traffic and text to speech for announcing turns, so it might be worth a look at this lower price.
Meanwhile, Navigon [iTunes link] has launched a version for Mexico at $49.99. The Mexico version includes many of Navigon's premium navigation capabilities such as Google Local Search, Enhanced Pedestrian Mode, Speed Assistant, Route Planning and even a localized point-of-interest database. If you're doing some driving south of the border, or happen to live down there, it should be on your list of travel options.
I expect the new year will bring a slew of enhancements and new products for the iPhone and iPod touch -- who knows, maybe we'll even get to see a tablet navigator before 2010 is through.
TUAWTwo GPS app updates for travelers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Is Google Voice available for the iPhone?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone, App Store
Need a refresher on the Google Voice and Apple saga? Let's recap the story to date:
Apple pulled all Google Voice related apps from the App Store back in July, which led to an FCC inquiry, which led Apple to claim they had not rejected but were "studying" Google Voice, which Google contradicted. The biggest surprise in the whole scenario is that AT&T said that they had no problem with Google Voice on the iPhone.
Yet here we are, 4 months later, and still no decision (that we know of) has been made. I've previously referred to this as Apple's pocket veto of Google Voice where they are able to say they haven't rejected it when they have, in effect, rejected it. Put it all together, and this has led me to put up a website for your "Google Voice on iPhone" questions, which I narrowed down to IsGoogleVoiceAvailableForTheiPhone.com?
As it stands today, the answer is a qualified "No" in that there are no Google Voice apps available from the App Store, but I was curious to see what options are available. I found three tools that you can use today, and one more which is on the horizon.
1) Google Voice's Mobile site: Using Mobile Safari, you can get to Google Voice's Mobile site and access a variety of features, including turning phones on and off, making calls or sending SMS through your Google Voice account. This works, albeit slowly, and you are unlikely to want to make many calls this way, it's just too much of a hassle. And did I mention that it's slow? Especially compared to a local app, it's pokey.
2) Google Voice Bookmarklet Generator: David Friedman came up with an ingenious method for creating Google Voice "bookmarklets" for calling people using your Google Voice number. He then shared that idea on his website, which led someone else to write a Python script which will convert your entire address book to Google Voice shortcuts. His goal was not to reproduce Google Voice functionality, but simply to make it easier to call people through Google Voice.
Check out the article where he explains how this works for more details. It's fairly geeky, but some of you may find it a good tool for your utility belt.
3) GV Mobile: One of the apps pulled from the App Store was GV Mobile by Sean Kovacs. Rather than see his work go to waste, Sean released GV Mobile for free to the jailbreak community through Cydia. Jailbreaking involves trade-offs (then again, so does "not jailbreaking"), but if they are trade-offs you are willing to live with, this is perhaps your best alternative today.
What if there was another option? What if there was a way to get most of the benefits of a native app, local speed, offline access... but without having to wait for the App Store approval process?
This is becoming an increasingly attractive solution to folks who are put off by the App Store delays, not only for initial approval (and the possibility of being yanked at any moment if Apple decides to "study" your app) but for updates. For example, what happens when you create a Twitter client for iPhone but Twitter makes API changes which render some or all of your app inoperable? Or, what if Google changes the authorization method for Google Voice? This happened recently, which broke some Google Voice apps that people had bought and downloaded before they were pulled off the App Store. Those developers have no way to get bug fixes to those customers who paid to buy their apps, which is bad for the developers (who get support requests for a problem they can't fix) and for customers who paid for apps rendered useless by Apple's arbitrary decision.
It turns out there is another option. Neven Mrgan of Panic.com recently released an iPhone game called Pie Guy which is a web app, but is stored locally using HTML5. What that means is that it feels very much like a native app running at native-app speed, and it can be used offline.
Riverturn, which had developed a native Google Voice iPhone app called VoiceCentral, is looking to make the same approach for Google Voice. Instead of waiting for Apple to figure out if they are going to allow iPhone clients for Google Voice, Riverturn is developing an HTML5 web app which you download to your iPhone. It is called VoiceCentral Black Swan Edition and it is currently in "very limited beta." Those who have Google Voice accounts can sign up for the beta list at the website, which has some additional information and screenshots.
Riverturn provided access to the beta to a few of us at TUAW and the response was a unanimous "Wow." Quite frankly, if someone handed you an iPhone which had Black Swan already set up, I'm not sure that you would be able to tell it isn't a native app. I used it to place a few calls and it worked quickly, easily, and reliably. The best part is that when the app is updated, all users will immediately get the updated version. No waiting for Apple to approve it.
Web apps are not a panacea for the issues in the App Store. Before the iPhone SDK was announced, Apple promoted web apps as the best (and only) way to develop for the iPhone. It didn't measure up: many users knew it, developers knew it, Apple knew it (they had already developed native apps, proving that for some cases they were needed).
That said, there is a lot more than can be done with "web apps" than you might imagine, especially with HTML5 and local databases. Pie Guy is a great example of a web app game, and BlackSwan looks like it is going to be another great example of what developers can accomplish even when Apple gets heavyhanded about what can be offered on the App Store.
In my opinion, Apple has been overly restrictive with the App Store, keeping worthwhile apps from the hands of users who want them. These apps don't violate Apple's initial list of limitations of what would be allowed in the App Store (as discussed previously):
- Illegal
- Malicious
- Porn
- Privacy
- Bandwidth hog
- Unforeseen (the handy catch-all)
I suspect that others will say "if you don't like the iPhone, don't use it." Except that I'm now in a contract with AT&T, a contract that I made based, at least in part, on Apple's promises regarding the availability of apps which did not violate the above 6 points. Even if I wanted to abandon my iPhone now, would Apple pay my early termination fee? Should we start yet another class action suit against Apple? Wouldn't it be easier on everyone involved if Apple would simply go back to its original guidelines for the App Store? How much faster would the review process be if the reviewers only had to worry about those 6 things?
As hopeful as I am that Apple will loosen its grip on the App Store, I'm not holding my breath, which is why I'm glad to see innovative developers like Neven Mrgan and the folks at Riverturn finding alternative solutions.
I'm planning a full review of VoiceCentral Black Swan when I've had more of a chance to use it. In the meantime I'll try to help you keep track of Google Voice's official status on the iPhone. I still hope that Apple will allow Google to release its iPhone app for Google Voice, as well as allow customers who have already bought and paid for apps to get bug fixes, etc. I applaud the folks at Riverturn for their ingenuity and creativity, and hope Black Swan is a terrific success. Perhaps it will inspire other developers to look at locally stored web apps as a development option.
TUAWIs Google Voice available for the iPhone? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Nothing was stirring, not even these mice
Filed under: Desktops, Hardware, Peripherals, Odds and ends, Apple
Wired's Gadget Lab points to this great Flickr gallery by raneko of Apple mice throughout the years, from the blocky one-button behemoths of years past up to the smooth and slick Mighty and Magic mice of today. Laid all in a row like that, it's interesting to see just how much care went into the look of these things, and how the different iterations, across years of work, built upon the basic idea. Wired says that Apple mice have never been its strong point, and they're pretty right about that -- even the current mouse, while beautiful and well-designed, doesn't have the functionality or ergonomic design that you'll find in most other brands of mice.
But nevertheless, these still look great, and for the Apple fan, they'll probably bring back a flood of memories all the way back to the Macintosh. Great gallery.TUAWNothing was stirring, not even these mice originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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