- Coming soon: StarCraft 2 controlled with your iPhone
I like this idea a lot -- developer Daniel Hellerman is working on an app for the App Store that will interface with a Windows client to control Blizzard's StarCraft 2 real-time strategy game. The RTS Gameboard for StarCraft 2 is an app, downloadable starting in September on the App Store (assuming it's approved by Apple), that will purportedly let you control your units and buildings through the iPad and iPhone's touchscreen interface. The app promises "mini-map control, detailed unit statistics, and easy touch access to the games most important hotkeys and macros."
Sounds good, right? Too good to be true, probably -- unfortunately, the app only works with a Windows client running on the game's PC, so this won't work if you've been playing StarCraft 2 on your Mac (although Boot Camp should work ok, assuming the app does what it is supposed to). And then there's Blizzard Entertainment -- while it's definitely interested in Apple's iOS platform, it's not quite so hot on allowing third-party programs that access and control its games. If Blizzard follows past precedent, the odds of this reaching the App Store (especially in a paid form) are slim to none.
But we'll see -- while we'd much rather have Blizzard release a port of the original StarCraft on the iPad, a half-step like this might be fun, too. Hellerman says the app is due out by September, so we'll see if he can beat all of the obstacles that seem to be in his way.
[via Mashable]
TUAWComing soon: StarCraft 2 controlled with your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone - Blizzard Entertainment - Apple - Unofficial Apple Weblog - App Store
- Apple looking to hire iBookstore marketing manager
Apple has posted a new job listing looking for a marketing manager specifically for the iBookstore. The listing seeks an experienced business marketer "to drive awareness and sales of iBooks through co-marketing programs with publishers and authors, strategic partnerships, and via online and direct marketing tactics." It seems like a lot of the position will be self-driven, as whoever's chosen will be asked to come up with some interesting schemes to push iBook sales, both with publishers, and even across the other divisions of iTunes (buy an iBook, get an iTunes download free?). But the bottom line is of course sales -- Apple wants someone to push iBooks, specifically in the US.
More power to them, we say. Apple has some staunch competitors in terms of book sales -- while I'd consider the iPad a much better e-reader than Amazon's Kindle, I've actually purchased more books from the Kindle store just because I feel it's a better experience. Maybe with someone in charge of getting readers into the iBookstore, we'll see more reasons to stick with Apple's digital editions rather than going elsewhere.
[via Macsimum News]
TUAWApple looking to hire iBookstore marketing manager originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple - Unofficial Apple Weblog - ibook - IPad - IBookstore
- In Brief: Woz' Big Bang Theory episode airs September 30th
I'm looking forward to the Big Bang Theory episode with Steve Wozniak, both because I'm a fan of the show, and because who doesn't love the Woz? A post on the CBS forums says that the episode with the Apple co-founder is coming up on September 30th, just the second episode of the show's new season.
There's no information yet on why Woz will appear with the nerds on the show, but the plot of the episode apparently has wacky physicist Sheldon Cooper trying to put his brain into the body of a robot in an effort to stay immortal. As you can see in the picture to the right, he either succeeds or (more likely) has a sitcom fantasy about succeeding, so maybe Woz will appear in a dream sequence.
At any rate, it should be fun -- The Big Bang Theory pretty successfully walks the line of friendly sitcom mixed in with some well-done geek cultural references. I'll be setting my Tivo for September 30th.
Thanks to Steaps for the tip!
TUAWIn Brief: Woz' Big Bang Theory episode airs September 30th originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Steve Wozniak - Big Bang Theory - Sheldon Cooper - Unofficial Apple Weblog - CBS
- IceClean does system maintenance and optimization for your Mac for free
There are a raft of utilities that provide a front end for the built-in Unix system tasks. Some are free, some cost a little bit, either through a purchase or shareware fee. Cocktail is a great example of a paid app that is very complete but it's not free. OnyX is a good free app with similar capabilities.
IceClean does a whole basket of system fix-ups and the price is zippo. We took a look at IceClean a couple of years ago, and it's been updated for Snow Leopard. Everything from triggering background maintenance tasks that normally get done in the middle of the night, to permission repair, preference file verification and cache clearing.
The app also has some network utilities for the more technically minded, like traceroute,, netstat and whois. The app can also force the trash can to empty, force eject optical media, and it can clean up many problems with Spotlight. There are a lot of other functions and you can check them at the IceClean website. Remember that like any utility, it's doing some deep digging into the Unix core of Mac OS X, so it isn't a good idea to force quit the app when it's running. It doesn't offer a lot of feedback other than a spinning gear, so caution is the word of the day. The current version supports Snow Leopard, while version 2.5 supports OS X 10.4. All these apps have some overlap, and most of them have some unique features. Check them out to see which ones best meet your needs.
[via Mac360]
TUAWIceClean does system maintenance and optimization for your Mac for free originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mac OS X - Apple - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Mac OS X Snow Leopard - Mac OS
- Marketcircle releases Billings Pro
After some teasing and a closed beta, Marketcircle has finally released Billings Pro 1.0. As the big brother to Billings, the pro version offers multi-user support for small businesses.
I've used Billings and Billings Touch for years, and love them dearly. Of course, I'm a "business of one," so I don't need multi-user support. Many do, however, and Marketcircle intends to bring the great Billings experience to them. Additionally, they're going for ubiquitous access from the Mac, iPhone and the web.
Billings Pro is a multi-user time tracking and invoicing application. Time tracking is super easy. All you must do is click aspect of the project you're working on, start the timer and you're off. When you're done working, simply stop the timer. All data is synchronized automatically.
This release offers new tools for the manager, like what they're calling "Timecard," which lets users track mileage, project expenses and time spent working via a modern web browser, including Mobile Safari.
There are several payment options. First, users can purchase Billings Pro for a one-time fee of US$199.95 per user. Once that's done, you own it. There are no monthly or annual fees. Additionally, users can upgrade from Billings 3 to Billings Pro for $174.95 per user. Those with more modest needs can take advantage of a monthly, per user "pay as you go" option for $24.95.
Marketcircle is also offering a Billings Pro Starter Bundle which comes preloaded with Billings Pro, Billings Pro Touch, Timecard, Switchboard and a full year of Premium Support, starting at $1,429.50 for up to 5 users.
Of course, that's only the surface of Billings Pro. We're working on a full review and will have that out for you soon. Good luck to the folks at Marketcircle.
TUAWMarketcircle releases Billings Pro originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Marketcircle - Apple - Web browser
- TUAW Review and Giveaway: A couple of products for green Apples
Just about every time you turn around, there's another ad for a green product. Cleaners, cars, food products, you name it. Well, the trend was bound to make it to the Apple market, and we're happy to say that we have two products to tell you about. Even better, you have a chance to win one of these green products.
The first item is the Agent18 EcoShield+ case for iPhone 4 (US$34.95). What's "green" about a case for the iPhone? Well, when it's totally made from recycled plastic (one recycled bottle in every case!), that's a pretty good start. I do have to wonder about the plastic cover / hanger and box insert that are used for packaging the EcoShield+ case. If you're going to make a green case, why not develop packaging that's not going to end up needed to be recycled?
The EcoShield+ case (below) has some great points that are lacking on many other iPhone 4 cases. First, there is protection for all open ports. There's a sliding door for covering the headphone port as well as a swiveling cover for the Dock Connector. That cover is the second unique feature of the EcoShield+, as it also serves as a stand to prop up the iPhone in either portrait or landscape mode.
Although the EcoShield+ isn't as stylish as some other cases we've reviewed, it offers good protection, has a nice soft touch feel, and the built-in stand is definitely a plus. This case isn't available for sale yet, but we're going to be giving one away to a TUAW reader. Check the rest of this post for details.TUAWTUAW Review and Giveaway: A couple of products for green Apples originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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- Rumor: Next generation iPod nano will be super tiny
Add this to the rumor mix - AppleInsider reports that the next generation of iPod nano will be a minuscule version of the current generation. For proof, they point to a couple of third-party case makers, including this one from Orient King, pictured at right.
The case shows a 30-pin dock connector and cutouts to accommodate four buttons or ports -- most likely for a headphone jack, hold switch and volume buttons similar to the iPhone.
If this particular rumor is true, the iPod nano would more resemble its iPod shuffle sibling than retain the current form factor. It would only be the second time Apple has gone outside of the traditional gum package-shaped model. While the rumor might be a bit hard to swallow -- remember that three years ago, a lot of people did not believe the pictures of the "fat-boy" model iPod nano were true either.
But, I think this rumor could also be linked with the one we reported from iLounge earlier this month saying that the new iPod shuffle would have a touchscreen. If it did, then this form factor makes sense. It's either that, or I see the shuffle being quietly retired or not updated at all. We'll find out on Wednesday.TUAWRumor: Next generation iPod nano will be super tiny originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple - IpodNano - iPhone - iPod - IPod Shuffle
- China Unicom offering in-store jailbreaking
Chinese customers who want a jailbroken iPhone but lack the nerve or time to do it now have a reliable option, as distributor China Unicom (CU) is offering jailbreaking as a service in their retail stores.
Chinese language site WeiPhone notes (here's the English translation) that customers can have their iPhones jailbroken by the store's staff, who will also trim SIM cards to fit the iPhone 4's micro-SIM tray. Additionally, some are even advertising that they'll install apps for their customers after the jailbreak is complete.
Note that the iPhone 4 is not yet officially available for sale in China, so we assume that CU staff are jailbreaking older models.
As The Mac Observer notes, Apple has not yet commented on the practice. Any comment from the company should be a good one.
[Via The Mac Observer]
TUAWChina Unicom offering in-store jailbreaking originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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IPhone - Apple - China Unicom - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Subscriber Identity Module
- My Living Desktop's scene store brings more life to your Mac
On Friday, we had a short piece about some half-off deals on Bodega, the "app store" for OS X. One of the applications that was receiving the discount deal was a popular desktop program from Amuse, Inc. called My Living Desktop (US$34.95).
If you've never seen My Living Desktop in action, it's pretty amazing. Right now, I have a beautiful sunset scene taken at a swimming pool over looking the ocean filling my view on the 27" iMac screen. The clouds are moving, there's the constant sound of running water in the pool and the far-off crashing of the waves, and occasionally you'll hear a seagull. This, and the other scenes that are included with My Living Desktop, are very relaxing and visually stunning.
The app, which has been available for Macs since 2005, replaces your static desktop with videos. Sure, that's something that Windows Vista and 7 can do out of the box, but for Macs it takes this one little piece of software. My Living Desktop doesn't use many of the resources of your computer, and you can adjust how often the scenes change, turn off the sound if it's distracting, and even add your own video scenes. My favorite feature is the "Automatic Serenity Break,", which reminds you to take a break and smell the virtual flowers every so often.
As if the calming powers of My Living Desktop weren't enough, the developer has now added a Scene Store. It's the location to view and purchase additional video scenes for the desktop. The Scene Store features scenes ranging from single scenes to ScenePaks with many related sequences, with prices ranging from $2.95 up to $9.95.
Mac owners who are tired of the static scenes on their desktops now have an ever-growing choice of relaxing video clips to keep their Macs looking good.TUAWMy Living Desktop's scene store brings more life to your Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple - Macintosh - Operating system - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Windows Vista
- The App Store: 250,000 apps and growing
Apple set another milestone over the weekend when it reached 250,000 apps available in the App Store. Last Saturday, 148Apps recorded 252,227 apps currently available for the iPad and iPhone/iPod touch. Expect Steve Jobs to tout these numbers on Wednesday at the beginning of Apple's scheduled press event.
As Electronista reports, Apple still has the numbers when it comes to mobile app stores. Unofficial statistics suggests that there are over 100,000 apps available in the Android Store, and far fewer -- around 9,000 -- in RIM's BlackBerry App World.
148Apps also provided some additional little tidbits about the App Store. For instance, apps typically wait a week before going live. The average price of a paid app is US$2.67. The majority of apps are book apps (not to be confused with iBooks), followed closely by games.TUAWThe App Store: 250,000 apps and growing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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AppStore - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Apple - Steve Job - IPad
- Mac 101: Comprehensive Mac system information
More Mac 101, our series of tips and tricks for novice Mac users.
Last week we pointed out some documents Apple has made available for storing important information on your Mac. Information that you might need when talking to a repair tech or Apple Genius. In that post, TUAW reader Tom pointed out another way to generate a thoroughly comprehensive report of similar information without all that pesky "writing."
Basically, it's a printout of all the information that's stored in System Profiler. Here's how to do it. From the Apple Menu, select About this Mac. A new window appears. Click More Info to launch System Profiler. From there, select print and watch as your Mac prepares the System Profiler info for printing.
You'll notice that it's taking a long, long time. That's because there's a huge amount of information being compiled. Aside from the basics that we addressed last time, it's grabbing every error log entry, vitals on every app you've got installed, network information and a whole heck of a lot more. When I ran this report the resulting document was 2.7MB and 500 pages!
So don't print. Unless you're at work. I kid!
Instead, you can save to PDF, encrypt it with a tool like Knox and store it in a safe location. Note that some of the information will change between the time you create the file and when you're likely to need it, like the list of installed apps and log reports. Also, Apple's forms make it much easier to get to the information you're likely share with a tech. Finally, much of the information in this report is sensitive and you'll want to keep it away from less-than-savory characters.
It's overkill, but someday you might need something in that report to revive an ailing machine.
TUAWMac 101: Comprehensive Mac system information originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Macintosh - System Profiler - Articles
- TUAW Tips: Designing covers for the iBookstore
For budding novelists, one of the most exciting things about Apple's iBookstore is the chance to self-publish their writing and have it potentially available to the 100 million people that own iOS 4 devices. A novel is a daunting task, and once the writing is done, the hard part is over ... kinda. There are still two things you need to do: get your book on the iBookstore and make sure it has a compelling cover. We've told you before how to go about self-publishing on the iBookstore, but one thing that many writers are left pondering is what to do about the cover for their novel.
Cristina Lopo, owner of the London-based graphic design studio Loop Box, gave me some advice when we met at a book reading a few weeks ago. "The old saying is 'Don't judge a book by its cover,' but unfortunately, books are judged by their covers -- at least at first, and especially on the iBookstore. The cover is what is going to get people to click on your book to learn more about it when they are scrolling through a list of 25 books on a tiny iPhone screen." Click "Read More" for more tips on cover design for the iBookstore.TUAWTUAW Tips: Designing covers for the iBookstore originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple - Unofficial Apple Weblog - IBookstore - Design - Arts
- Show Time may be the mother of all alarm clock apps
There's no shortage of apps to wake you up in the morning. Show Time may be the most extensive, and it has a wicked sense of humor as well.
The app handles multiple alarms and has 25 ambient noise selections to put you to sleep, or you can choose something from your iTunes collection. There are 58 versions of clock faces, all in horizontal or vertical layouts. The alarm clock goes off even if your phone is set to silent, and you can shake the clock to change the color of the display or to snooze the alarm.
Some of the sound choices are a bit weird, like a dishwasher, a hair dryer, or a prison(!). One weak point is that you can't easily preview the sounds before you choose them. Other than that, I like Show Time. It's US$0.99 on the App Store. If you want to give it a test drive, there is a lite version, but the selection of sounds is limited, and there aren't nearly as many clock styles.There isn't an iPad version, but there should be. Check out the gallery for a peek under the hood.
TUAWShow Time may be the mother of all alarm clock apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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App Store - Alarm clock - Apple - Unofficial Apple Weblog - iTunes
- TUAW's Daily App: No, Human
No, Human is an intriguing little morsel of gameplay for both the iPhone and the iPad. The clever premise is that humans are planning to go out and explore the Universe, and the Universe, in turn, has decided that's not a good idea. So, you're actually playing against humans, lobbing fiery meteors out into space to destroy human-created objects like space stations and rockets.
The gameplay is simple but fun, and the graphics are minimalistic but quite stylish. There are 50 levels to go through, and while they're pretty quick plays, there is a high score board element. The developer also promises that there are more levels on the way. (Knowing humans as I do, I'm guessing that they won't get the lesson.) All in all, No, Human is an inventive title that's worth the US$1.99 on the App Store. It's not really innovative in any specific way, but as a whole package, it's a pleasure to play through and figure out.TUAWTUAW's Daily App: No, Human originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone - Unofficial Apple Weblog - AppStore - Apple - IPad
- Tonight's TUAW Talkcast: Back to school and an iPod announcement preview
Sunday night is the funnest night of the week, when you can join the TUAW staff for an hour or so of live banter about what's happened in the Apple world in the previous week. This week, we'll also be chatting about the mystery Apple press conference on Wednesday, which probably isn't too much of a mystery given the past history of September press meetings.
It's also the time of year when the kids are going back to school, so we'll talk about some of the best Apple and third-party products and software for students of all ages.
To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (take advantage of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.
If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac or your PC, you can connect via the free Gizmo or X-Lite SIP clients or using the Talkshoe client's ShoePhone tool; basic instructions are here.
We'll kick things off at 10pm ET/ 7pm PT. See you there!TUAWTonight's TUAW Talkcast: Back to school and an iPod announcement preview originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Unofficial Apple Weblog - Facebook - Apple - TalkShoe - Voice over Internet Protocol
- TUAW Tips: Play internet radio in background on your iPad
Those of us who love to stream internet radio on our iPads can quickly turn into ogres when we switch to another app and the music stops. Until the iPad supports iOS 4 (soon) we're stuck with no background capability, which makes background streaming impossible.The folks over at FairerPlatform have come up with an easy way to listen to many of your favorite streams without a need to jailbreak your iPad or wait fruitlessly for Flash to make an appearance on the platform. While this trick won't work for every streaming Internet radio station -- Pandora is a perfect example of this -- it does work with others like Live365.
What you need to do is find a radio-only stream that is playable in Safari, start playing the stream, and then go on to those other apps while listening to your music. As an example, FairerPlatform cites Soma FM, a San Francisco-based, user-supported internet radio station. Their music is available in the pls multimedia playlist format, which the iPad's Safari plays without a hitch. Once you've started the stream, you can do any other work you need to and the stream plays on in the background.
If you're a fan of any of the live shows on the TWIT network, you can listen to those shows in background as well. Just point Safari to live.twit.tv, tap "Live Audio Stream," and then you can listen to their shows while doing real work instead of looking at Leo's face. TWIT AM uses the m3u format, which also loves Mobile Safari. It seems that most of the internet radio streams using pls or m3u work beautifully with Safari.
Of course, this doesn't work with every radio station, internet or otherwise. I tried to see if a local radio station's coverage of the Colorado Rockies would stream -- nope, they use a Flash player. But this is a good trick to know until we're able to run the native streaming players as a background process on the iPad in a few days or months.TUAWTUAW Tips: Play internet radio in background on your iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Internet radio - Radio broadcasting - Pandora Radio - Colorado Rockies - Unofficial Apple Weblog
- App Review: Eat brains or get shotgunned in Zombie Dice
Zombie Dice is one of a new breed of board games that was released almost simultaneously in real life and in digital form as an app for the iPhone/iPod touch. It wasn't supposed to be that way, but the popularity of the free Flash demo that Steve Jackson Games developed for its website made someone realize an iPhone app might not be a bad idea. Fast forward a little while and we can now download - for free*, yay! - a slick version of Zombie Dice from the App Store.
Featuring zombies that are actually kind of ripped and who have a serious love of braaaaaains, Zombie Dice will instantly appeal to the Steve Jackson gamer crowd. Of course, if you're in that group, you most likely already have this app installed, so we'll have to explain what all the fuss is about. Read on and we'll do just that.
*You can get the basic game for free, but not everything. Read the review for details.
TUAWApp Review: Eat brains or get shotgunned in Zombie Dice originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 29 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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App Store - IPhone - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Apple - Steve Jackson Games
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