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- Digit-Eyes identfies everything for the blind without breaking the bank
Filed under: iPhone, App Review
The Digit-Eyes Audio Scanner and Labeler (US$29.95) from Digital Miracles is a remarkable Assistive Technology (AT) app for the iPhone
and iPod touchgeared to the blind and visually impaired community. What it does is fairly straightforward once you get the big idea, but the implications of its uses are fairly mind-boggling.
The app does three things. The first and simplest is, using the built in camera, scanning UPC and EAN codes found on most everything. Taking advantage of the VoiceOver accessibility capability built into the iPhone/IPod touch, it searches a database, brings back the results and reads it to you. There is also a button to search Google for more information. That's really no big deal since a variety of barcode scanning apps such as Red Laser can do roughly the same thing. You need an Internet connection for this since you are referencing the Digit-Eyes database.
The second thing it does, is more compelling. Once you register for a free account on their site, you can create text labels for printing on over 50 sizes of standard Avery labels. Select a type of label and a template page is displayed full of empty boxes representing labels. In each box, type in up to 100 characters of anything you want the label to say.
Once done, all your text is transformed into a .pdf page of QR (quick recognition) codes like the one shown in the upper right corner of this post. Print the page on the Avery label stock, and stick each on whatever you wanted the label to say. For example, if you typed in "Blueberries bought on July 31st", you would stick that corresponding label on a container of blueberries. Then using the Digit-Eyes app, scan the label on the container and the screen will display and a voice will read back "Digit-Eyes label read: Blueberries bought on July 31st". The database of what's behind each label is stored on your iPhone so you won't need an Internet connection to access the information.
TUAWDigit-Eyes identfies everything for the blind without breaking the bank originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Lost's Apple II up for auction
Filed under: Apple
The Apple II computer from the hit show Lost was one of the things that unfortunately wasn't really answered as the series ended. I get that the Dharma Initiative was trying to contain a leak from the source, probably because of Jughead going off, but what was up with that scene of Michael supposedly chatting with Walt? How did Walt get to a computer, and why didn't a chat ever come up any other time? I'm sure there are theories running around out there, but I don't think the show ever provided a reasonable explanation for that one.
Maybe you can film your own, though -- the actual Apple II plus from those scenes is being auctioned off later next month in Los Angeles by a group called Profiles in History. If you submit the winning bid, you'll not only get the computer from the set of the show, but also an Apple III monitor to go with it, and a Disc II floppy drive, along with a printout stating "system failure" from the show's big crash of Oceanic 815. The auction page doesn't say if it still works or not (which could be a good thing -- do you really want to punch the numbers in every 108 minutes?), or what the starting bid might be. But it would be cool to own both a piece of Apple history and an object from The Island, wherever that is.
[via MacStories]TUAWLost's Apple II up for auction originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - First look: OmniFocus for iPad
Filed under: iPad
Copyright 2010 The Omni Group. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
With OmniFocus for iPad just now hitting the App Store, I haven't yet had as much time as I would like to use the application to its fullest potential. My initial interaction has, however, been positive. Costing a rather steep $39.99, OmniFocus for iPad brings another professionally priced tool for professionals into the App Store iPad arena.
OmniFocus offers a way to create to-do lists on steroids. You can brainstorm out ideas, then start organizing and classifying them into separate projects, tasks, and "contexts"; contexts allow you to make tasks relevant to where and when you are working on things. Items related to working at home will not intrude into your "Office" context, for example.TUAWFirst look: OmniFocus for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Valve to release GL code, games on Mac see sales bumpsBoy, if you had to choose one company (including Apple) that has really led the charge for Mac gaming recently, I'd have to say Valve takes the cake, and that's no lie. Not only has the company brought an unprecedented set of quality titles to the Mac with Steam, but it's now announced that it will be sharing some of its graphical code for the Mac with Steamworks developers. That graphics layer coding is apparently the "real hard work" in making a game for the Mac, and Valve is trying to make that as easy as possible for its partner developers.
Why? Because -- and get this -- games sell more when they're on the Mac. Games that have added a Mac version since Steam went live on the Mac are seeing a 15 to 20% sales increase. That's actually for both platforms -- most Steam games available for the Mac share ownership on both Mac and PC, so they're not really tracking sales of one platform or the other. Still, having a game available on the Mac is a big bonus, as not only does it make Mac players possible, but it drives attention for both platforms (as you may have even seen here on our site -- when we post that a game has finally come to the Mac, even PC gamers consider going back to check it out).
Excellent news for developers already working with Steam, and also good news for those of us who enjoy running our favorite games from the dock rather than the start menu. Even Apple hasn't put the kind of work into reviving Mac gaming that Valve has in just the past few months.
[via Joystiq]TUAWValve to release GL code, games on Mac see sales bumps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - MindMeister comes to the iPad
Filed under: iPad
Looking for even more productivity on your iPad? MindMeister has released an iPad version of their collaborative mind mapping application, allowing iPad users to mind map locally and sync with the web version to share ideas with others. We've mentioned MindMeister before, and they were part of our suggestions for mind mapping on the iPhone, but ever since the dawn of the iPad, I've been waiting for it to come to the big screen!
MindMeister on the iPad may not be the most complete mind mapping application available for the iPad, at least as far as bells and whistles. It does its job well, though, and the synchronization with the web version is a huge selling point, at least for me. The web version is my favorite online mind mapping tool, with its real-time collaboration features and very useful integration with external web services. Being able to update and edit my online maps from my iPad is very exciting, indeed.
If you're a mind mapper, or someone who's looking for a new way to share ideas and collaborate with friends and co-workers, definitely check this app out ($7.99US on the App Store). There's a version for the iPhone ($6.99US), and a companion iPhone app for sending quick notes to your maps instantly, called Geistesblitz (free), too. The app functions fine on its own, but really shines when combined with the web version. The Basic plan for the web app is free with 3 maps at a time, and you can get unlimited maps for $59US a year. Check out the pricing plans at the MindMeister website.
TUAWMindMeister comes to the iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - A new approach to iPhone panoramas
Filed under: iPhone
There are plenty of iPhone apps that shoot panorama photos. You take a picture. Move to the left or right, and after you have 3 or 4 images the panorama software stitches the images together.
Now, Occipital is offering 360 Panorama, a different approach to getting wide, or even 360 degree images. The app is dead simple. Click on a button to start the process, then slowly turn left or right. You appear to be taking one continuous image, and as you move you can see the image filling in on a grid. You don't do any stitching, the software does it in nearly real time. You can go wide, or even shoot vertical images. Or you can do both, panning up and down, and moving left or right. The image will fill in. It's pretty cool to watch. When you tap 'save' the image goes to your camera roll.
The app does a lot of processing and therefore needs to run on an iPhone 4 or 3GS. I had good luck using the app. I did have some trouble getting the edges to line up in a complete 360, but I think that is a matter of practice. Boinx released a similar app last week called You Gotta See This!
TUAWA new approach to iPhone panoramas originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - UK soldiers use iPad app to train for Afghan operations
Filed under: iPad
At the Royal School of Artillery in Wiltshire, UK, troops have been learning how to manage a fire mission (firing artillery at the enemy from several miles away) with the help of iPads. Early reports indicate that the technique has accelerated their learning.
BBC Radio's Newsbeat had an exclusive look at new training being given to these soldiers. One trainee described the app as a nice alternative to classwork. "This has been designed to let us practice," said Lance Bombardier Jason Markham, "that when we get out there into theatre we're a lot slicker. It makes it more fun instead of being sat in a classroom looking at a presentation being given information."
Training officer Major Rich Gill, who assisted with the app's deployment, sees additional benefits, calling it a way to reduce training time and more quickly prepare troops for their time in Afghanistan as well as their return home.
The group that developed the training app is also working on a 3D app for new pilots. It's an interesting use of the technology and emphasises the notion that the iPad's best feature is the fact that it's a blank slate for developers. Whatever app it's running, that's what it becomes.TUAWUK soldiers use iPad app to train for Afghan operations originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Nozbe for iPad 1.1 integrates Evernote with your projects
Filed under: iPad
We've mentioned GTD app Nozbe a few times before, but not since the release of their iPad app. If you're looking for a complete, easy-to-use task management app for your iPad and haven't checked it out, here's your kick in the pants to take a look.
Nozbe was originally a web-based application (still is), and creator Michael Sliwinski (also editor of Productive! magazine) has continued to develop amazing features into the web version. One of the more recent developments was Evernote integration, where you could tag projects in Nozbe with tags used on notes in Evernote, and have your Evernote notes show up when viewing projects in Nozbe. The latest version of the iPad app includes this functionality, along with improved file attachment handling.
The Nozbe iPad app is a full-fledged task manager which doesn't require a subscription to the web app to be fully-functional. In my opinion, though, the online synchronization and ubiquitous availability of your tasks on any platform is a major part of the appeal of this application. The iPad app is easy to use and easy to understand, offering full GTD compliance while not inundating you with choices and options that just make task management too complex. There's a version of Nozbe for iPhone as well, and they all sync together via the web application.
Among the many features of Nozbe that impress me are the myriad ways of getting tasks into your lists. From Twitter to plain text import, email, Dashboard widgets and, of course, the iPhone and iPad apps, finding a method that fits your workflow is an easy task. For the geeks, there's even an API that's pretty well fleshed out, allowing you to create your own means of adding tasks, checking them off, managing projects and more. I do long for a Mac desktop app, but I'm finding plenty of ways to make it just as easy to use the web version, and discovering that there are benefits to "working in the cloud" when it comes to task management.
If you're just interested in the iPad app, pick it up on the App Store for $14.99US, and check out the iPhone version for $4.99US. Subscriptions to the web version start at $7.50 per month (if you prepay a year). You can have a go at the free trial, too, and see if it's a good fit for you.
TUAWNozbe for iPad 1.1 integrates Evernote with your projects originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPad class action lawsuit heats up
Filed under: iPad
I guess when you're the big guy in town, everybody paints a target on your back. First, Apple and AT&T were sued for the data plan change on the iPad, and now another class action lawsuit about the iPad is underway in California, claiming that the tablet overheats way too quickly when held or placed in warm sunlight. The lawsuit alleges that the iPad "does not live up to the reasonable consumer's expectations created by Apple," and that it "turns off, sometimes after just a few minutes of use," when used in bright sunlight.
The suit, filed in Oakland, seeks "unspecified damages," and as far as I can tell, it's still in the earliest preliminary stages. All of Apple's devices tend to overheat to a certain extent when used to their full potential, and anyone who's left an iPhone or an iPod in a hot car knows that there's a limit on what these things can take. But at the same time, even when I've had my iPhone overheat on me, it usually just takes a few minutes of sleep or standby to bring it back to normal -- hardly an inconvenience worth suing over. We'll have to wait and see what happens with this one.TUAWiPad class action lawsuit heats up originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - The art and science of the iPhone 4 CAD drawings
Filed under: iPhone
If you're a sucker for technical drawings, then feast your eyes on the CAD drawing / iPhone 4 photo mashups recently published on Core77.
Hipstomp (AKA Rain Noe) found out that Apple had released the CAD drawings of the iPhone 4 exterior with special annotations for case manufacturers, and he promptly overlaid the technical drawings on top of the actual product photos. The result, as you can see in the photo above, is pure artistry. There are more drawings in the original post (click the source link below to view them), and if you'd like, you can download the bare CAD drawings directly from Apple.
Wouldn't you love to see an officially-sanctioned black T-shirt (or mock turtleneck) with this silk-screened on it?TUAWThe art and science of the iPhone 4 CAD drawings originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - A wiki for prepaid (iPhone compatible) SIM cards around the world
Filed under: iPhone
Here's a great resource for any iPhone user who frequently travels. The Pay As You Go SIM with Data Wiki provides an ever-growing list of disposable SIMs that will work with the iPhone all over the world.
The project's goal is to collect a list of iPhone (and Android) compatible pay-as-you-go (PAYG) SIMs from around the world. Since the card is pre-paid, they're useful for someone who will be traveling for a brief time. To make the list, a card must be capable of handling data as well as voice.
For example, in France you can get an Orange card called "Mobicarte," which provides 30 days of unlimited data for 12 euros, or a subscription from LFR called "La carte" which provides unlimited data for 9.90 euros. Voice and text are charge separately on a graduated scale.
Of course, the iPhone 4 has a micro-SIM, and they're more difficult to find on the PYAG shelves. Fortunately, there are ways to make a full-sized SIM fit. We posted about one method not too long ago. Basically, you can buy a kit to help you physically cut a standard SIM down to size. There's also a hardware cutter that resembles a stapler, which all but guarantees a proper cut every time. Plus, it comes with an adapter that will let you re-use the diced card with a full-sized device.
Some SIMs are locked to a given provider. The wiki provides information on how to deal with that, too. The whole thing seems well-curated and timely. Add it to your travel plans and avoid coming home to an iPhone bill equal to one month's salary.
[Via Nik F.]TUAWA wiki for prepaid (iPhone compatible) SIM cards around the world originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Safari extension highlight: MLB.com Toolbar
Filed under: Safari
With the addition of the Safari Extensions Gallery to Apple's website over the last few days, TUAW will be highlighting extensions that we think are special, useful, or just plain fun.
I'm a baseball fan, but other than my beloved Colorado Rockies and the rest of the NL West, I don't follow a lot of other teams. While it would be nice to have a browser window open to MLB.com all the time, my screen is just too cluttered with work for me to be able to keep an eye on what's going on in Major League Baseball and get work done. So what's a Mac-lovin' baseball fan to do?
One of the first Safari Extensions I downloaded was the MLB.com Toolbar. Written by the staff at MLB Advanced Media, it adds a tiny toolbar to the top of your Safari page, as well as an icon emblazoned with the unforgettable MLB icon. The extension displays scores of games in progress as well as games that are completed. As with the example above, you can see that the team logos are nicely rendered, the score is easy to see, and the winning (Ubaldo Jimenez 16-2!) and losing pitchers are listed. Each score remains visible for 5 seconds before fading away and being replaced with another.
A control on the right side of the toolbar allows you to stop the parade of scores and "fast-forward or rewind" to the next or previous score. If the scores are getting too distracting, you can make the toolbar disappear with a click on the MLB icon. Want to bring it back? Click again.
This extension is a perfect example of what a Safari extension should do -- add functionality without being too distracting. Let's hope that the NFL follows the lead of MLB with a well designed and executed scoreboard extension.TUAWSafari extension highlight: MLB.com Toolbar originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple's London Covent Garden store to open on August 7
Filed under: Apple
Calling fellow Londoners! The London Evening Standard is reporting that Apple is finally set to open the Covent Garden store on August 7th. The store will be housed in a building that was built in 1877 and feature a glass roof over a courtyard that was originally for delivery by horses. The new location is comprised of four floors, the top two for offices and exhibitions and the bottom two comprising the store itself.
Apple's store on Regent Street is currently the most profitable store in London based on sales per square foot, and if you've ever stepped foot in it, it shows. The Regent Street store is packed from open to close. Sometimes it's so busy, it takes you half an hour just to check out. Getting a Genius Bar appointment takes even longer -- many waiting times are measured in days, not hours. It is hoped that the Covent Garden store, which is located about a mile from the Regent Street store, will take some of the pressure off Apple's first European flagship location. Good luck to Apple with that, because most days it seems like there are as many people in Covent Garden as walking along the Oxford and Regent intersection.
According to the Evening Standard, Apple spared no expense in designing the store and restoring the building. They even reportedly removed a set of brick arches piece-by-piece and then rebuilt the arches exactly as they were on a new floor. Why? Because they wanted to lower the arches by a mere four inches. The Covent Garden store opens at 10AM on Saturday, August 7th. Its normal operating hours will be 9AM-9PM Monday through Saturday and Noon-6PM on Sunday.
Image from ifoapplestore.com.TUAWApple's London Covent Garden store to open on August 7 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW giveaway: HexaLex for iPhone
Filed under: iPhone
We featured HexaLex as our daily app a little while back. It's an excellent Scrabble alternative, and it mixes up the tried and true formula just enough that, if you and your friends are looking for something different to play, it's worth checking out. And we're here to make that easy for you. TUAW's got 10 promo codes to give away to 10 lucky readers, so you can download a copy of HexaLex for free!
To enter the giveaway, leave us a comment telling us the highest word score you've ever earned in a word game (or make one up if you've never played before). Here are the official rules:
- Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
- To enter, leave a comment telling us the highest word score you've ever earned in a word game.
- The comment must be left before midnight on Monday, August 2, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Ten winners will be selected. All will receive one promo code for HexaLex, valued at $1.99 each.
- Click Here for complete Official Rules.
TUAWTUAW giveaway: HexaLex for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - App Review: Medici ships good gameplay onto your iPad
Filed under: App Review, iPad
Medici [$5.99] is the latest in a growing, impressive line of heavy-ish board games to make the jump from the table to the iPad, and it's amazing to see this game - so carefully crafted and respected by the designer board game community - on a touch screen with an animated background. With Medici being a game of perfect information in real life, it works amazingly well as an iPad app, and if you've ever wanted to practice your Medici bidding skills for your next board game night, this digital version provides a lot of AI opponents of varying ability to challenge. The app isn't perfect (more on this later), but it does a fine job of bringing a 15-year-old board game to life for a new generation of gamers. Read on to see if you might be someone who enjoys this sort of thing.
TUAWApp Review: Medici ships good gameplay onto your iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - The American Museum of Natural History's Explorer app for the iPhone and iPod touch
Filed under: App Review
The American Museum of Natural History on New York City's Upper West Side has released AMNH Explorer (free) for the iPhone and iPod touch. This app, funded by Bloomberg, is a tour guide and personal navigation system that allows you to easily traverse the museum's huge collection. You can search for an exhibit by popularity, exhibit hall, or an alphabetical listing, and the app will use the museum's free Wi-Fi to give you step-by-step directions to your intended destination (using either the stairs or elevators). You can also get directions to the closest restroom or exit as well as information about restaurants and gift shops.
If you want to know more about an exhibit, tap its card to see more detail. After you've seen an exhibit, you can mark it as visited, which puts a banner on the exhibit's information card. You can also bookmark exhibits, which will send you an email that details what you've bookmarked as a record of your visit. There is also an option to send exhibit information to Twitter or Facebook.TUAWThe American Museum of Natural History's Explorer app for the iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW's Daily App: The Screetch
Filed under: iPhone, App Store
The Screetch is a great game with a funny name. At its heart, it's a match three game; you want to match three of a kind for a certain round gem while you're constantly dropping them from above (Tetris style). The game's namesake is where things get slimy, though. The Screetch is constantly "infecting" gems that are dropped onto the board, and you can only clear it out by matching three gems and putting the slimy, oily dude into a flask.
It sounds complicated, but of course, it starts out simple and builds up from there. As the game progresses, the Screetch moves faster, requiring you to drop gems in the right places quickly. There are also lightning gems that will clear out whole lines of the board and quite a few levels to ramp up the difficulty as you play along. The Screetch element adds a fun, new twist to the standard match three gameplay, and the graphics are pretty well polished to boot.
The game is available on the App Store right now for US $2.99, and the addition of online league play and trophies extends the playability a little bit. If you're a fan of match three games or just want a fun thrill to pick up and play for a few minutes at a time, check it out.TUAWTUAW's Daily App: The Screetch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Parrot AR.Drone now available for pre-order at BrookstoneGood news, everyone! The long-awaited Parrot AR.Drone (as seen being crashed into one of Parrot's PR reps by yours truly) is finally available for pre-order over at Brookstone. And as promised back at E3, the iPhone-controlled quadricopter will be available for US $299.
It's available in a couple of different color schemes, comes with a free "flight bag" (if you're within the first 300 orders), and requires a shipping fee of $10. Unfortunately, there's no shipping outside of the United States, and of course, the iPhone or iPod touch is sold separately. According to the pre-order page, orders are "expected to ship" on September 3rd, 2010; that's just over a month from now.
The $299 sticker price is a little steep if you ask me, but then again, if you have a need for an iPhone-controlled quadricopter with not one but two cameras on board, you probably have a couple hundred bucks to put into it. If you do order one, be sure to keep us updated on when it ships, and let us know what you think of the device. Happy flying!TUAWParrot AR.Drone now available for pre-order at Brookstone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW giveaway: Fusion of Ideas StealthArmor for iPhone 4
Filed under: Accessories, iPhone
Here at the TUAW giveaway headquarters near Denver, Colorado, we get a lot of fun items to give away to readers. So many, in fact, that sometimes we neglect to give away some of the items until they reappear from the bottom of a pile.
With sincere apologies to the wonderful folks at Fusion of Ideas, that's what actually happened to the four StealthArmor for iPhone 4 kits they sent to us. For iPhone 4 owners who want to resolve the "grip 'o death" issues without an Apple bumper, StealthArmor provides a classy solution.
Each of the four kits we have to give away comes with a set of parts. There's a nano-fusion scratch-resistant screen protector, a set of custom-cut corner and side bezel pieces, and then an industrial-grade back cover. Unlike the bumper and most cases that are on the iPhone 4 protection market, StealthArmor adds very little weight and bulk to your device -- but does add a lot of protection. The kits also come with complete installation instructions, although you might want to view the video (above) before attempting the install.
The four kits we're giving away are each a bit different:- Matte White back with clear corner and side bezel pieces
- Carbon Fiber back with brushed aluminum corner and side bezel pieces
- Woodgrain back with clear corner and side bezel pieces
- Tungsten back with brushed aluminum corner and side bezel pieces
- Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
- To enter, leave a comment telling us which of the four StealthArmor kits listed above you'd like to win.
- The comment must be left before midnight on Sunday, August 1st, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Four winners will be selected. All will receive one Fusion of Ideas StealthArmor for iPhone 4, valued at $35.
- Click Here for complete Official Rules.
TUAWTUAW giveaway: Fusion of Ideas StealthArmor for iPhone 4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Civil War: America's Epic Struggle comes to the iPad and iPhone
Filed under: App Review
Civil War: America's Epic Struggle (US$4.99) from MultiEducator Inc. is a full history course in an iPad and iPhone app. It contains at least as much information as most textbooks on the Civil War at a fraction of the cost, while adding elements that no textbook can. There are 24 multimedia presentations, some as long as nine minutes, a nice selection of music popular during the Civil War, and a wonderful navigation system that just makes sense.
When starting the app, information can be sorted 18 ways, from a changing Categories bar including Battles (sorted either chronologically or alphabetically), Multimedia Presentations, Statistics and topics like Navy, Economics, Railroads, Music, etc. Depending upon where you are in the app, tapping on Categories brings up a contextual listing of what you can see. For example, tapping on Major Battles Chronologically changes the bar to a listing of battles grouped by year. Tapping on a battle such as Bull Run, brings choices of a text summary of the battle, a five minute multimedia summary, seven text articles on aspects of the battle, 20 photos or drawings, most of them taken from the Matthew Brady Archives, and full color maps. Depending upon the battle there is more or less information available, but this is done for 26 battles in total; clearly, there's a phenomenal amount of information in the app, plenty for even a Civil War buff to peruse.
TUAWCivil War: America's Epic Struggle comes to the iPad and iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Rumor: Sprint working on iPod touch-friendly 4G hotspot called "Peel"
Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch
I was first introduced to the wonders of the mobile Wi-Fi hotspot at Macworld earlier this year -- our own Mike Rose was carrying one around, and it was like magic. A Wi-Fi connection for up to five people anywhere you go? Yes please. I don't think the charges make it necessarily feasible for someone on a budget (say, a humble blogger like yours truly) to carry around every day, but it's certainly handy to have around, especially if you're traveling.
And now Sprint is apparently looking to piggyback one of these devices on Apple's iPod touch. Macrumors reports on new filings to the FCC that show a device that's almost a case; it's designed to be attached to the back of Apple's handheld, providing local Wi-Fi service anywhere you happen to be. It's called The Peel, and it doesn't connect to the iPod touch at all except physically -- it's just a case that wraps around and sets up a Wi-Fi spot whenever it's hooked up.
It's worth nothing that this isn't the first time Sprint has tried to pair up their 4G service with an Apple device -- you might remember the iPad 4G case that came out a while back. Makes a lot of sense -- Apple's devices need a connection, and Sprint has a much better chance of making you get one if you've already got a device to use it with. We'll keep an eye out for an official release of The Peel.TUAWRumor: Sprint working on iPod touch-friendly 4G hotspot called "Peel" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iBooks Store adding increasing number of multimedia titles
Filed under: iPad
It was earlier this week that Jeff Bezos, father of the Kindle and CEO of Amazon was saying that "A color screen doesn't make an Ernest Hemingway novel any better."
True enough -- the Kindle has a beautiful sharp screen that is a pleasure to gaze at. Not all books, however, are Hemingways, and we're starting to see so-called multimedia titles showing up in the Apple iBooks Store.
One example is the 'Enhanced Edition' of Nixonland, by Rick Perlstein, a chronicle of our 37th President. The book contains the full text of the book first published in 2008. It also includes 27 videos of the former President and newsreels that put those turbulent years into perspective.
TUAWiBooks Store adding increasing number of multimedia titles originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - 20 great, free iPad comics
Filed under: iPad
CNET's Crave blog compiled a great list last week of twenty great, free comic books to read on your iPad. For me, more than anything else, the iPad seems perfect for a visual, interactive medium like comics. Movies are better on my big screen, and books can be read on a Kindle (or just on paper -- weird, I know), but for the iPad, having the ability to zoom in on a great piece of comic art or download new comics straight to the device to be read on that big, colorful screen seems perfect.
Enter this list, which has some great free samples from both the DC and Marvel comics apps, or a few other free Comics reader apps available on the store. There's some really good stuff out there for the low price of absolutely nothing, from some classic books that are hard to find in print to some newer promo books for current series or comics that have been made into movies.
Man cannot live on free alone -- if you're really into comics, you'll probably want to buy a few from their official apps (though it's a shame that pricing and selection isn't quite there yet, but hopefully Marvel and DC will eventually figure that out). And this article doesn't even mention the tons of great single-app books you can find on the App Store, for both the iPhone and the iPad. The iPad was designed for consuming media, and comic books are one of my favorite media around.TUAW20 great, free iPad comics originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPhone 4 launch takes place in New Zealand, but confusion reigns down under
Filed under: iPhone
Imagine if Apple's handset prices in the US weren't announced at WWDC, and the subsidy pricing was up to AT&T. Imagine if AT&T told potential iPhone customers that the iPhone 4 would launch on July 30, and pricing info would be released well in advance of that.
Now imagine the weeks leading up to July 30 went by, and AT&T didn't say a word about the iPhone 4's pricing, even though many other countries had already released handset and plan info. It's July 29, and instead of working with its customers, throwing them a bone, giving them some sort of information, AT&T instead remained utterly reticent and deleted any posts on its forums remotely critical of its handling of the situation. Imagine AT&T followed up by deleting all mention of the iPhone 4 from its website: no pricing info, no pre-orders, not even a "coming soon" link.
Imagine that July 30 comes along, with the usual line-ups happening nationwide. You'll also have to imagine there's no Apple Stores, and AT&T is the only place in the country where you can buy a subsidized iPhone. At eight in the morning on the day the iPhone 4 is supposed to launch, there's no trace of it at any AT&T store, or Best Buy, or Wal-Mart, or anywhere else you might reasonably expect to find an iPhone 4 on the day it's launched. And even in the midst of all this, and with media reports flying about that Apple's partnership with AT&T has been cancelled, AT&T still doesn't have a single scrap of information to spare for its loyal customers. Not a word of explanation. Not a single excuse. Nothing. And no iPhone 4 anywhere in the nation.
Now replace "AT&T" with "Vodafone," and you have a picture of the iPhone "launch" in New Zealand. I put "launch" in heavy sarcasm quotes, because the iPhone 4 is not launching in New Zealand today... and thanks to Vodafone, no one has any idea when or even if it will be coming to New Zealand at a subsidised price. Read on for a textbook example of how to generate a PR disaster, and also an example of how not to treat potential customers.
Update: I just got off the phone with my local Vodafone retailer, and they claim they will be selling the iPhone 4 today starting at mid-day, but only to those willing to sign a 2-year plan; they are not selling unsubsidized handsets, and the iPhone 4 will be available for online sale "in the coming weeks." I'll be heading over there momentarily to try my luck, and will update later whether I'm successful in getting one or not.
Update 2: It turns out the store reps were correct, and my local Vodafone retailer did indeed get a supply of iPhone 4s just before noon. An orderly group of about a dozen customers lined up outside the store while Vodafone employees set up iPhone promotional materials and waited for clearance from corporate to sell the units. In a case of "better late than never," Vodafone sent a text to all iPhone owners at exactly 12:00 telling people iPhone 4 was available in limited quantities. By that time, it wasn't clear if there'd be enough stock to go around for people who may have given up hope earlier in the day, although store employees didn't seem to be worried about having enough iPhones for the group which showed up at mid-day. There's no way to know how many potential early adopters might have gone home with an iPhone 4 this morning, but who will now have to wait for more available stock to arrive.
I now have a 32 GB iPhone 4 syncing with my Mac, thanks in large part to the efficiency and friendliness of the retail staff at my local Vodafone store, who handled the launch with brilliant professionalism. If their company's upper management had handled things half as well as the rank and file, I might not have needed to write this article in the first place.
TUAWiPhone 4 launch takes place in New Zealand, but confusion reigns down under originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - First Look: Rocknor's Donut Factory
Filed under: iPhone
Rocknor's Donut Factory is due to hit App Store on Monday. It is an iPhone update of a Windows game that was critically acclaimed back when it was released in 2003. It offers terrific puzzles and fun gameplay that's unfortunately hampered on the iPhone by a too-literal transition from the original game.
In this game, you move dough through a factory -- shaping it, cooking it, topping it, and shipping it out -- using a variety of assistive machines. You have to be clever. Some of the factory floor layouts are fiendish. Getting each donut produced to order to meet your quotas isn't as simple as you might think.TUAWFirst Look: Rocknor's Donut Factory originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - App demo: BistroMath
It's a tip calculator, check-splitter all-in-one app... and yes, there are a bunch of 'em on the store. Check out the demo to see if BistroMath combines the power you need with ease of use you're comfortable with. Ultimately, that's the differentiator in these calculator apps: usability. If you can't quickly split a bill, or split a bill fairly (say some guy ordered a bottle of champagne just for himself), then the calculator isn't for you. BistroMath seems to do this and more quite easily, so if you're in the market for such a calculator -- and yes, some people use these quite often -- check it out for iPhone or iPad for US$2.99. Try not to confuse it with the other Bistromath, which is not in the App Store.TUAWApp demo: BistroMath originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Why Apple's "walled garden" is a good idea
Many developers and users of Apple's iOS devices bemoan the "walled garden" of the App Store approval process, but it appears that the company's measures have prevented mass data theft from iPhones, and iPads.
At the Black Hat security conference being held in Las Vegas this week, mobile security firm Lookout announced that an app distributed in Google's Android Market had collected private information from millions of users, then forwarded it to servers in China. Worse than that, the exact number of affected users isn't known, since the Android Market doesn't provide precise data. Estimates are that the app was downloaded anywhere from 1.1 million to 4.6 million times.
The app appeared to simply load free custom background wallpapers, but in fact collected a user's browsing history, text messages, the SIM card number, and even voice mail passwords, and then sent the data to a web site in Shenzen, China.
This is different from the recent AT&T website leak that could have let a hacker access 144,000 iPad 3G user email addresses, since in this case the data theft actually did happen, was being perpetrated by malicious hackers, involves much more personal information, and affected many more people.
So what's the difference between the security methodologies used by Google and Apple? Apple approves iOS apps only after they've gone through a strict (and frustrating to developers) process, while Google's Android Market simply warns the user that an app needs permission to perform certain functions during the installation. iOS apps must be signed by an Apple-created certificate, which means that malicious developers have a harder time distributing malware anonymously.
Lookout also noted that iOS remains virus-free, since third-party apps can only be distributed through Apple's heavily-moderated App Store, and the apps run in a sandbox environment where they can't affect the system. Lookout chief executive John Hering said that "he believes both Google and Apple are on top of policing their app stores." It's just those odd cases where apps don't do what they're advertised to do that can cause problems for users.
[via AppleInsider]TUAWWhy Apple's "walled garden" is a good idea originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - App Review: Hexaphone
I'm not the most musically inclined person, but I do tend to try out a bunch of different music generating apps on both my iPhone and iPad. Sometimes the end result is more or less successful, while other times I may as well have been sitting in front of a Baby Grand with just my index fingers and the sheet music for Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor in front of me. The newly released Hexaphone from Impresario Digital, thankfully, fits the former quite well.
Hexaphone uses samples generated from an expensive Nord Lead 3 synthesizer to provide you with five different sound patches and eight different scales to use, as well as 17 percussion beats to accompany your music. You can lay down a drum beat, then record a bass line and play it back while you lay down another track, and then more upon that if you want.
What's most interesting and different about this music app is how the keys are laid out, making it much easier to hit the intended notes on a smaller iPhone screen. The app works quite well on the iPad, though one optimized for the larger iPad screen would be most welcome. See the video on the next page.
My only gripe with the app so far is not being able to easily export recordings, though the developer says that's coming in a future release. The developer's website has lots of instructional videos for musical newbs like me, and they do a good job of showing you the capabilities of the app, before or after you buy. You can grab Hexaphone in the app store now for $2.99 (25% off).TUAWApp Review: Hexaphone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Interesting, impractical iPhone concept lamp
Filed under: Accessories, iPhone
And you thought using an iPhone as a flashlight was crazy...
Apparently the above image is just a concept for a flexible iPhone dock that one can easily bend into the form of a lamp. Obviously, the screen is bright enough to give enough light for a small desk area, but is it at all practical? Of course it's not. It should be using the iPhone 4 and its much brighter back-facing LED!
To me, the stand looks much too narrow to be practical as an iPhone stand, never mind as a lamp. Still, I've seen crazier things being done with the iPhone when one is in a pinch.
[via Obama Pacman]TUAWInteresting, impractical iPhone concept lamp originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - ClearCam goes legit, will increase image resolution at a price
Filed under: iPhone
ClearCam has been around for a while, and I first took a look at it more than a year ago. It was a clever app that had two modes. One mode took a series of four pictures in rapid succession, and then it saved the best and sharpest one in your photo library; the other mode took six images together and stacked them in order to increase resolution and reduce noise. In practice, it meant that the old 3G 2MP camera became the rough equivalent of a 4MP camera.
The app had been pulled from the App Store for a while -- the SDK did not allow access to raw iPhone images (only compressed images), which meant it was impossible to run any enhancement algorithms on the data. The SDK now allows for access to those uncompressed images, iPhone cameras are better, and ClearCam has returned as a regular iPhone app. It runs on the 3GS and the iPhone 4, and it requires iOS 4.
The app is similar to the original version, although now it chooses the best shot out of three instead of four. For the stacking or enhanced mode, it still takes six images and then aligns and processes them.
TUAWClearCam goes legit, will increase image resolution at a price originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - A look inside the Magic Trackpad
Filed under: Hardware
It's so thin and barely there. What could be inside Apple's Magic Trackpad? The folks at iFixit took theirs apart, photographing and describing each component in great detail. Here's what they found.
Inside there is, well, not a whole heck of a lot. A large spacer prevents the user from pressing down hard enough to damage the small logic board. That board is connected to the trackpad itself via two "ridiculously thin" ribbon cables, which are glued into place. They used a hot air gun to soften the adhesive. So, tread very lightly if you plan to remove these.
Speaking of the board, the gang found that it holds a Broadcom BCM2042 for Bluetooth connectivity and a Broadcom BCM5974 touch screen controller chip (the same on used in the iPhone, iPod touch and MacBook Air). A SST 25WF020 provides 2 Mbit of serial flash memory. On the back, there's just a whole lot of glue.
Here's a bit of good news: the Magic Trackpad's battery is user-serviceable! Just good luck getting to it. It's also notable that pressure applied to the surface is translated to the feet, which in turn presses on a plate attached to the chassis. That place squeezes an electronic mouse button switch. In essence, as pointed out by Macworld, it clicks with its feet.
Thanks to iFixit for another well-documented tear down, and for sweating the (very tiny) details.TUAWA look inside the Magic Trackpad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - BBEdit 9.5.1 out now
Filed under: Software
You lousy kids, with your iPhones and iPads and iGadgets! Back in my day, we worked on real computers, with real keyboards, and mice with one button, and we liked it! BBEdit is a relative relic of that age -- when text ruled the Earth, BBEdit ruled text. And the old Mac app is still being updated. The latest version 9.5.1, adds in a couple of dozen fixes, and reverts some of the capitalization rules to the way it worked in a previous version. There are still some die-hards who swear by BBEdit for coding or editing text, and because of its power and versatility, it's $125 for an initial purchase. The upgrade to 9.5.1 by current users is, of course, free.
Nowadays, you've got your drag-and-drop and your touchscreens and your gestural controls, but BBEdit is one of the best apps that does what your computer used to be best at: editing text quickly and well.TUAWBBEdit 9.5.1 out now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - The worst app name. Ever.
Filed under: Humor
Sometimes app developers will send me PR releases hoping I review their apps (thus increasing their sales). If I think it's a good app, or that my readers would like it, I do. Many times I don't, however. But I couldn't resist sharing this app with the rest of the world. Why? Not because it's a good app (I haven't even tried it), but because it is the worst-named app in the history of apps: Touch Teen Patti.
When I first read the name images of an app that featured photos the young and innocent teen Patti popped into my head. I imagined the Pedobears on the Chan sites going crazy over this app as they used their fingers to pinch and squeeze young teen Patti's various body parts. It wasn't just the name that caused me to shamelessly snicker like a thirteen year-old either. The PR release went on to contain a number of inadvertent, though sexually ambiguous, double entendres:
- "Teen Patti recently featured in a movie of the same name."
- "Teen Patti can be played with a minimum of 2 players but it's more fun with 4 or more players."
- "The AI will challenge the players to an extreme and test not only your luck but your skills on the table."
Commenters note that "Teen Patti" in Hindi translates as "three cards."TUAWThe worst app name. Ever. originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Prizmo provides optical character recognition on the iPhone
Filed under: iPhone
Prizmo is a popular OCR (optical character recognition) app for the Mac that allows you to scan documents and things like business cards easily and quickly, avoiding the step of typing them in by hand. Now, Creaceed has announced that it's bringing the app to the iPhone, so you'll be able to make use of the really powerful OCR software, all on the go using the iPhone's HD camera as a scanner.
As you can see above, it's pretty impressive. It's not just the fact that you can scan for text (I believe there are a few apps, including Evernote, that already allow you to do this), but all of the options that come along with it, including adjusting for brightness and calibrating the scanner.
Anything you scan gets included in a Spotlight search, and you can also share whatever you put in right off to Dropbox or similar Cloud apps. Very cool. Creaceed hasn't set a date or price for the app officially yet, so look for it soon on the App Store.TUAWPrizmo provides optical character recognition on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW's Daily App: Gravity Hook HDSemi Secret Software (the same folks behind the amazing Canabalt game for the iPhone) has released its second game for the iOS platform, Gravity Hook HD. I actually heard about this one way back in March, and it was made even before Canabalt was. But this iPhone and iPad release has been updated for HD, and it's kind of fun. To play, you tap on various hook points in order to send your little guy skyward; you do this while fighting gravity and trying to keep from falling off the bottom of the screen. I can't say it's as fun or as simple as Canabalt, but it is colorful and addictive for sure.
You don't believe me? Go play the free Flash version on the website. If it hooks you (get it? Hooks?), you can pick up the universal app for iPhone or iPad for US $2.99.TUAWTUAW's Daily App: Gravity Hook HD originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Study: iPad owners are selfish elitists, non-owners are independent geeks
Filed under: iPad
Hey we didn't say it, we only repeated it. Consumer firm MyType has done a study of the opinions of 20,000 people, and have determined that iPad owners are wealthy, sophisticated, educated, and score very low in tests designed to chart altruism and kindness. In short, they're rich and smart, but also spoiled and cruel.
If you happen to be anti-iPad (and probably vocal about it), don't worry, we're not leaving you out. Those who criticize the iPad, says the study, most likely don't own one (which seems obvious, no?), and tend to be "independent geeks" -- "self-directed young people who look down on conformity and are interested in videogames, computers, electronics, science and the internet." In short, "bashing the iPad is, in a way, an identity statement for independent geeks." Owning an iPad might make you less inclined to give to charity, but not owning one means you're trying to define yourself by being anti-Apple.
Whew -- and they say generalization is a bad thing. In reality, of course, there are all kinds of shades of gray in here. Certainly there are very altrustic people who have purchased iPads, and certainly, not owning an iPad doesn't mean you're searching for an identity (nor, of course, does it mean you have one). But these are definitely general trends -- we've heard before that iPad owners tend to be at least more wealthy and educated than have-nots, and just one browse through your average comments section will tell you that "independent geeks" are often more than willing to criticize to make themselves look good.
[via Slashdot]TUAWStudy: iPad owners are selfish elitists, non-owners are independent geeks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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