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- BoinxTV adds motion magic with LibOrientator
The guys from Munich (actually Puchheim, near Munich) have done it again. Boinx Software has updated BoinxTV to version 1.8 and created a special new iPhone and iPad app named Orientator (free) to control 3D graphics effects in BoinxTV. Even better, Boinx developed LibOrientator, a library for iOS developers who may want to include features in their apps that enable control of BoinxTV layers.
BoinxTV is a powerful video console app for Mac OS X that provides professional TV effects and editing to humble consumers like myself. I use the app every week for TUAW TV Live, and although I haven't yet mastered most of the BoinxTV toolset, it helps me to combine video from several cameras and other inputs, movie clips, photos, lower thirds graphics, and audio into a (hopefully) professional looking video podcast.
What Orientator does is read the values for device motion, the gyroscope, accelerometer, location, magnetometer, and other orientation data, and send that info over a Wi-Fi connection to BoinxTV on your Mac. While Orientator is fun for just looking at the readouts of the sensors in your iOS device (as shown above), it's even more useful when used to control video layers in BoinxTV. For displaying apps that don't contain the LibOrientator library and use the special BoinxTV layers, the company suggests simply velcroing an iPhone to an iPad 2 to send the orientation data to your Mac.
There's a full description of how to use Orientator to help record iOS demos and training apps on the Boinx website, and the video below should give you a good idea of how Orientator controls special BoinxTV layers. The update to BoinxTV is available from within the application by selecting BoinxTV > Software Update.
BoinxTV adds motion magic with LibOrientator originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Lodsys patents now face invalidation attack
The latest salvo in the ongoing Lodsys patent dispute against third-party App Store developers has just been fired. According to Florian Mueller, Michigan-based company ForeSee Results "has filed a declaratory judgment suit against Lodsys's four patents with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois." Mueller describes a declaratory judgment as "a pre-emptive strike by those who consider themselves or their customers/partners likely targets of an infringement suit."
ForeSee counts Adidas and Best Buy among its customers, and by pre-emptively filing suit in Illinois, it hopes to protect itself against a Lodsys suit in the patent-holder-friendly Eastern District of Texas. Intriguingly, Mueller notes that ForeSee picked the Northern District of Illinois as the venue because that's where Lodsys's CEO (and sole employee) lives; this essentially means that Lodsys is only "formally" headquartered in East Texas, presumably because that judicial district has a history of decisively siding with patent holders.
If true, by choosing to headquarter its company in the Eastern District of Texas despite the company's business operations actually taking place several states away, it's just one more piece of evidence that Lodsys as a company exists solely to engage in lawsuits based on intellectual property claims. Put more simply: it's Patent Trolling, Inc.
Mueller surmises that if ForeSee's declaratory judgment agains Lodsys is successful, it could theoretically help the seven developers that Lodsys has sued thus far argue their case. However, the real problem is that many of these small developers may not be able to afford to defend themselves in such a suit, with their only option being to pay license fees to Lodsys whether its patents are valid or not.
Lodsys has yet to comment on the matter, but given its past history of blog posts on its site, the company will no doubt take great pains to defend its stance -- one which we maintain is indefensible and amounts to gaming the US patent system in an attempt to extort money from third-party iOS developers incapable of defending themselves against its claims. Apple has yet to make any additional response beyond the response it made over two weeks ago, before Lodsys filed suit. If Apple's measured reactions to recent crises is anything to go by, the company is no doubt carefully weighing its options before making its response in the matter.
Lodsys patents now face invalidation attack originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW and MacTech Magazine at WWDC
This week TUAW and MacTech Magazine teamed up to speak to developers at WWDC about the keynote and how Apple's new technologies will help them and their customers. Over the next couple of weeks we'll bring you those videos here and on MacNews. Also, check out the free trial subscription offer for MacTech Magazine here.
Our first video features yours truly and the publisher of MacTech, Neil Ticktin talking about the keynote and what we've seen so far of Apple's next operating systems and iCloud. Enjoy!
TUAW and MacTech Magazine at WWDC originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - DUI checkpoint apps no longer welcome on App Store
Don't raise a glass to Apple just yet. New App Store Review Guidelines explicitly ban iOS apps that identify certain DUI checkpoints. Specifically, the important passage reads:
"...apps which contain DUI checkpoints that are not published by law enforcement agencies, or encourage and enable drunk driving, will be rejected." Note that Apple will only reject apps that identify checkpoints whose locations are not published by local law enforcement. Also, this change is specific to DUI checkpoints and does not affect speed trap apps and the like.
It's likely that this change is a response a recent request by U.S. Senators urging Apple to pull apps that alert drivers to the location to DUI checkpoints. The same request was also issued to Google and RIM. As of this writing, Google's and RIM's guidelines are unchanged.
DUI checkpoint apps no longer welcome on App Store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Find My Mac kicks off with Lion
In the latest Developer Preview of Lion, Apple has activated the new Find My Mac feature. Like Find My iPhone, Find My Mac allows users to locate their Macs from any web browser or iOS device. As noted by 9to5 Mac, the Find My Mac setup is available through the Mail, Contacts, and Calendars setting in System Preferences. Simply click "Allow" and your Mac is ready to be tracked.
Once enabled you can use any web browser or iOS device to track your Mac. When found you can choose to play a sound or send a message, remote lock the Mac, or remote wipe the Mac. Remote locking and wiping will prevent you from locating the Mac again however. The Find My Mac feature will be free, all you need to use it will be Lion and a free iCloud membership. This feature is sure to be a bane to thieves and no doubt we'll be hearing stories about how Find My Mac thwarted more thieves in the future.
Find My Mac kicks off with Lion originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Google Chrome 12 offers safer downloads, hardware acceleration, more
Google has updated its Chrome browser to version 12. Perhaps the coolest feature of Chrome 12 is the support for hardware-accelerated 3D CSS. Any websites (like this one) and web apps that use 3D CSS effects will now have those effects rendered on your page with the help of your computer's graphics card, which should allow for faster and smoother 3D effects.
Chrome 12 also adds a host of privacy and security features. Chrome will now warn users before they download some types of malicious files. Chrome 12 also gives you more control over the data websites store on your computer, including Adobe Flash's Local Shared Objects. Chrome 12 is a free download.
Google Chrome 12 offers safer downloads, hardware acceleration, more originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Will iOS 5's Safari deliver better support for web editors?
One of the long-standing frustrations for anyone who's tried to edit blog posts or web documents using Mobile Safari is the absence of support for the HTML5 contentEditable attribute. The contentEditable element attribute, which began as an Internet Explorer 5.5 feature and later found its way into most modern browsers, is part of the suite of tools that makes it possible for Google Documents and other inline editors to do their rich-text WYSIWIG editing magic.
Unfortunately, up through iOS 4.3 there's no support for the contentEditable attribute in Mobile Safari, which means that popular web editing tools either don't work at all or have to provide severely limited iOS-specific versions. According to this thread on Hacker News, it looks like things may be changing in iOS 5; preliminary tests on the beta seem to show that the attribute is working as expected in the new version of Safari.
If this does prove out for the final builds of iOS 5 (and that's a reasonably substantial 'if,' since we're still several months away from release), we could be looking at a dramatic improvement in support for virtually all web-based rich text editing tasks on the iPad. For those of us who have struggled with this issue for a while, it's welcome news indeed.
Thanks to Gary Poster for his question.
Will iOS 5's Safari deliver better support for web editors? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Wall Street analysts think iCloud's future has a silver lining
Apple fans and developers apparently weren't the only people who liked the iCloud announcement on Monday at WWDC. As reported by Fortune's Philip Elmer-Dewitt, Wall Street analysts are almost unanimous in their positive comments about iCloud's effect on the financial future of Apple.
For example, Credit Suisse's Kulbinder Garcha is quoted as saying "Although Google and Amazon are already offering cloud based offering, we believe Apple has continued to lead innovation in the services space with the introduction of its iCloud, which we believe is superior to existing cloud services from competition."
RBC Capital's Mike Abramsky was even more enthusiastic when discussing the PC-Free capabilities of iOS 5, noting that by "'cutting the cord' to the PC, Apple may expand its addressable device market by 4x, addressing the ~3B handset users who have a phone -- but not a PC."
TUAW's favorite analyst, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, also chimed in on the ability of future iOS devices to work sans PC, and commented that "Bottom line is that Apple is increasing the likelihood that consumers buy multiple Apple devices ... Apple will be giving away iCloud for free (we had expected it to be priced between $25-$99 a year) ... sharing non iTunes music will cost $25 a year. (As a point of reference, Amazon's Cloud drive could cost up to $200 a year.)"
The future for Apple looks as bright as the sunlight in those architectural renderings of the proposed Cupertino campus of our favorite company.
Wall Street analysts think iCloud's future has a silver lining originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Ask TUAW: WWDC/iCloud Edition
Welcome to Ask TUAW, our weekly (mostly) question-and-answer column. This week we're addressing your numerous questions about Apple's introductions at WWDC. We'll try to tackle questions about Lion, MobileMe and more.
By the way, we can never have too many questions. You can't have a Q&A column without the Q, so please go to the comments of this post and ask away. Believe it or not, we've had a little bit of a drought of questions, so now's your chance to get them answered! If you prefer, instead of asking questions in the comments, you can also email your questions directly to ask [at] tuaw.com, or simply ping us on Twitter.
Now, questions! John asks:
How do you remove iCloud music downloads from my iPhone and iPad? There seems to be no way to do it on the device or in iTunes when connected via USB to my computer.
Continue reading Ask TUAW: WWDC/iCloud Edition
Ask TUAW: WWDC/iCloud Edition originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW TV Live: Steve and Rich talk Lion, iOS 5, and food
OK, maybe we won't get around to talking about food, although the two of us are both accomplished chefs, but we'll certainly be talking about the two new major operating system versions that will be shipping later this year.
In July, of course, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is slated to drop from Cupertino. For just US$29.99, the new OS is the first Mac operating system designed to be distributed via the Mac App Store. With a load of new features and redesigned user interface, Lion is bound to both excite and frustrate Mac users. Later in 2011, iOS 5 will hit our iOS devices and bring a variety of new features to the mobile space. We still don't know all of the details about these two new operating systems, but that will be part of the fun of today's TUAW TV Live.
My guest today is TUAW blogger Rich Gaywood, who will be joining me for an hour of discussion on the forthcoming OS upgrades. From your Mac or PC, go to the next page by clicking the Read More link at the bottom of this post, and you'll find a livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.
If you're stuck in traffic and would like to watch TUAW TV Live, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application. If you're on an iPad, you should be able to use the Skyfire Browser to watch the stream, although you will not be able to participate in the chat.
We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the new TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.
Continue reading TUAW TV Live: Steve and Rich talk Lion, iOS 5, and food
TUAW TV Live: Steve and Rich talk Lion, iOS 5, and food originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iOS 5 to sell text alert tones through iTunes
The beta version of iOS 5 includes a new feature that lets you buy ringtones for alert messages, and is just one of the 200 new features that are to debut in the new operating system.
The ringtone option is found in the settings menu under the sounds. Users select any of the available alerts like Text Tone, New Voicemail, or New Mail to see a list of available sounds. You can choose from any of the default sounds as well as "Buy More Tones." Clicking on the "Buy More Tones" button in iOS 5 launches the Ringtones Store within iTunes.
This feature and others like it were apparently too small for Jobs and other Apple luminaries to mention in the Monday WWDC keynote. Expect to see more of these little gems surface over the next weeks as developers begin diving into the beta release of iOS 5.
iOS 5 to sell text alert tones through iTunes originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Reported Motion 5, Final Cut Pro X screen shots
Earlier today Twitter user BWilks2001 posted screenshots of what is allegedly Motion 5. Motion is part of the Final Cut Studio suite and while Apple previewed Final Cut Pro X in April, it has not shown off any of the other apps from the suite -- even though Apple has said the next Final Cut Studio suite will be available for US$299 in the Mac App Store by the end of June. As for those other apps, all Apple said was "stay tuned."
Judging from the screenshots, Motion 5 will offer a "rigging" feature. In addition to Motion 5, BWilks2001 said the next Final Cut Studio suite will "supposedly" feature a new version of Color, Apple's color-timing software. Interestingly, the BWilks2001 Twitter account no longer exists. Whether the user created the account just to leak the images, or if Apple had Twitter pull the account since the two companies are buddy-buddy, is unknown.
Reported Motion 5, Final Cut Pro X screen shots originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me switch between YouTube and iTunes
Dear Aunt TUAW,
Do you know if there exists a nice program or plug-in for safari which decreases the iTunes volume/pauses the current played song, when I am going to watch a YouTube movie?
Each time I click a YouTube movie on Facebook, etc. I just find it really frustrating to go to iTunes, pause the current song and go back to watch the movie... and then restart the current song in iTunes again when the YouTube clip is finished. I want it to work in a similar fashion as on the iPhone.
Kind Regards,
Forrie
Continue reading Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me switch between YouTube and iTunes
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me switch between YouTube and iTunes originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - How to install Lion from an SD card
After we linked to instructions for how to burn a Lion boot disc earlier this week, Nature's Eye Studios contacted MacStories to let them know they figured out how to get the new OS to boot off a SD card. After downloading Lion from the developer site, the video maker proceeds to wipe a SD card and use the repair option with the Lion disk image as the source to create the boot. Once you've created the backup, you can use the SD card as a Lion installer if needed, then pull a backup from Time Capsule.
Keep in mind that the final release of Lion will include a restore partition and Recovery Mode, meaning that you'll be able to boot your machine from a clean Lion installer at any point without the use of external media (assuming your hard drive's not wonky). While this means you're a lot less likely to need install media down the road, it's nice to know the option is there.
Check out the video below to see this process in action.
How to install Lion from an SD card originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Use Keynote Remote for iPhone to control Keynote on iPad
Here's a very welcome change to Keynote on iOS. The latest update lets you use the Keynote Remote app for iPhone as a remote for Keynote presentations on the iPad.
Reader Andreas sent us a video of the two apps in action (which you can see below). Setup is simple; first launch the slideshow on the iPad and then the remote app on your iPhone. Add the iPad as a source and you're off!
Of course, it's been possible to sit or stand next to an iPad running a slideshow and flip through it with your fingers. But many people like to get up and move around while they speak, and now the iPhone offers a way to do that. Good work, Apple!
Thanks, Andreas.
Continue reading Use Keynote Remote for iPhone to control Keynote on iPad
Use Keynote Remote for iPhone to control Keynote on iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW'S Daily Mac App: Typist
When I was in high school in the late 90s, classes such as home economics, shorthand and basic keyboarding were already a thing of the past. I could read my Japanese textbook much easier than my mother's shorthand book from the early 70s. She learned proper touch typing in school while I developed a very fast method of hunt-and-peck that got me up to 73 words-per-minute.
Typist tries to teach basic touch typing. You can take a basic course and then progress to speed drills, longer exercises and the like. Two specific sections focus on the calculator keypad and the Dvorak keyboard.
Typist's lessons are baby steps in touch typing. You get used to having your hands positioned properly on the keyboard, then build up from there. Stats displayed during the exercise show keystrokes-per-minute, typing speed and your error ratio. When you make an error, the program makes a sound to let you know you're off. You can repeat exercises until you're confident enough to move on. The lessons gradually grow more complex as you build your typing speed and capability.
Typist is a free download in the Mac App Store, and it's an excellent program for learning proper touch typing whether you're a student just starting out, or an adult who never learned how.
TUAW'S Daily Mac App: Typist originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Wi-Fi Sync and Wi-Fi Sync: An amazing coincidence? You decide
About a year ago, we told you about Greg Hughes, a British university student and iOS developer. Hughes created the jailbreak app Wi-Fi Sync (US$9.99), which gives your iPhone the capability to "wirelessly sync with iTunes at the touch of a button." The app was turned down by Apple last May, at which time Hughes was given very little explanation as to why his app would not be making it into the App Store. Wi-Fi Sync has had very good success in the Cydia jailbreak store, with Hughes reporting in an interview today that the app has chalked up over 50,000 sales.
Now fast forward to the WWDC keynote on June 6, 2011. Apple announced a number of new features that will be available in iOS 5 this fall. One of the big features is something called ... wait for it ... Wi-Fi Sync. Guess what it does? According to the description on the Apple website, Wi-Fi Sync in iOS 5 lets you "wirelessly sync your iOS device to your Mac or PC over a shared Wi-Fi connection."
OK, so maybe Apple was working on this capability in April of 2010 when Hughes first submitted Wi-Fi Sync to the App Store. But is it a coincidence that the Apple Wi-Fi Sync icon is almost identical to the one that Hughes had a designer create for him last year? Check out Hughes' icon below at left, and Apple's new icon at right. Interesting...
Personally, I like the Hughes icon design better. This isn't the only case of Sherlocking -- the apparent appropriation by Apple of features previously available in third-party apps -- that we've seen this week. Many features that were available only through Cydia apps in the past are now going to appear on iPhones in iOS 5. It seems to me that Apple, particularly in the case of some rather amazing "coincidences" like Wi-Fi Sync, would want to reach out to the developers who brought features to iOS well before the company did. Apple should reach out and reward the developers for showing the foresight and skill to demonstrate powerful new features, even if the company didn't "borrow" those features. Unfortunately, that's probably not going to happen.
If you aren't opposed to jailbreaking your iPhone and want the Wi-Fi Sync capability before iOS 5 appears this autumn, be sure to reward Hughes by purchasing his app. Sales of the Cydia Wi-Fi Sync app are sure to plummet when iOS 5 finally arrives.
So, TUAW readers, what do you think? Was Apple working on Wi-Fi Sync a year ago and that's why they turned down the Hughes app? Or did Apple borrow freely from his work? Leave us your observations in the comments.
Wi-Fi Sync and Wi-Fi Sync: An amazing coincidence? You decide originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPad 2 + Smart Cover = study aid with Evernote Peek
We tend to kvell about Evernote quite a bit around here, it's true; we've even interviewed CEO Phil Libin on at least four separate occasions. If only the company would stop doing cool things so we could quit harping on them!
No luck on that score, at least not today. Evernote claims to have introduced the "first iPad Smart Cover app" with Evernote Peek, a study aid and test prep app. It's a fantastically simple idea, so much so that it's surprising nobody has done it until now.
Here's the deal: populate an Evernote notebook with your clues/questions (in the note subject) and brief answers (the note body, including pictures if you want), or use one of the preformatted notebooks from Evernote and StudyBlue. Then, run Peek and peek under the first flap of the Smart Cover to expose the question; unfold the rest of the way to see if you got the answer right. Check off correct/incorrect so you can retest yourself on the ones you got wrong.
It's ingenious, and it works -- although the app instructions suggest turning off Auto-Lock for the Smart Cover, on my iPad that actually prevented the peeks from registering; it worked better with Auto-Lock left active. I can't think of an easier (or cheaper) way to build out quick, effective iPad flash cards for any topic under the sun. Since Evernote supports shared notebooks, it's simple for teachers or tutors to give students access to class-specific materials.
Prepare yourself for libraries and classrooms filled with the distinctive 'kerp' sound of Smart Cover front edges hitting iPad screens. You'll be hearing it a lot.
iPad 2 + Smart Cover = study aid with Evernote Peek originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - How to get Windows 7's best features on Mac OS X
Lifehacker has a nice post that shows you how to add some Windows 7 features to your Mac OS X computer. One of the nicest hacks is the ability to show a preview of an app when it's in the dock just like Windows 7 does with its Aero interface. There's also a way to remap your keyboard to use Windows-Style keyboard shortcuts. Most of the features are added via applications that cost less than US$20 each. Point your browser to the article for the rest of the tips. Enjoy!
How to get Windows 7's best features on Mac OS X originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Buy a new Mac now, upgrade to Lion for free
Apple's Mac OS X Lion press release reveals that those who purchase a new Mac on or after June 6, 2011 will be able to receive a free copy of Mac OS X Lion. Apple's Up-To-Date program typically lets customers who buy new Macs within a certain time frame update to the latest OS at a reduced cost, typically US$9.95 for a disc. It appears Apple is eliminating the fee entirely with Lion. From the press release:
"The Mac OS X Lion Up-To-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge via the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 6, 2011. Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade within 30 days of purchase of their Mac computer. Customers who purchase a qualifying Mac between June 6, 2011 and the date when Lion is available in the Mac App Store will have 30 days from Lions official release date to make a request."
That's good news for anyone who's in the market for a new Mac and either can't (or doesn't want to) wait until Lion is released to make a purchase.
[Via MacRumors]
Buy a new Mac now, upgrade to Lion for free originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT: A Welshman and a Coloradan walk into a bar...
Today on TUAW TV Live I have the distinct pleasure of introducing you to one of our TUAW bloggers and resident Welshman, Dr. Richard Gaywood. Rich has been writing for us for a while, and he's known for his insights into just about everything. I don't know how many times we've been lounging around the TUAW newsroom and asked a hypothetical question, only to have Rich send us a well-researched statistical dissertation a few minutes later.
On this afternoon's show, Rich and I will be kicking around the news from the WWDC keynote on Monday. Whether the topic is Versions in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion or the notification screen in iOS 5, the two of us are fairly likely to have an opinion.
We'll also be taking questions and comments about the recent TUAW redesign. As our fearless leader Victor Agreda has said, "release early and refine often," so your feedback will be welcome. We are not going back to the old design, though...
As usual, I'll be starting the show at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT / 10 PM BST) sharp, and we'll take a few minutes to chat before the demos start. To join in on the chat and watch the live streaming video, drop by TUAW about five minutes before the start time to get your instructions on how to participate. If you're unable to join us for the show, remember that you can always subscribe to the video podcast and watch the show at your leisure in iTunes or your other favorite podcatching app. The past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.
TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT: A Welshman and a Coloradan walk into a bar... originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPad 2 panel shipments could break 10.5m this summer
This summer Apple iPad shipments may reach 10.5 million according to a report from Digitimes. Apple has reportedly tapped Chimei Innolux to boost their supply of panels for the iPad 2. CMI is is expected to produce up to 500,000 panels in June and may ramp up production to over one million in July. Between CMI, TPK Holding and Wintek, Apple should have an ample supply of panels to ship over 10.5 million iPads in the summer quarter.
[Via Electronista]
iPad 2 panel shipments could break 10.5m this summer originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Boxee offers sneak peek at iPad app in London
Boxee showed off its iPad app at a small East London gathering this week. The new app is not yet available, but those who attended the sold out event got a sneak peek of what Boxee has in store for its iPad users.
Boxee is home theater PC software that runs on a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. The company also produces a set-top box that takes the place of the computer and lets you watch streaming video on your TV. The tablet app will bring Boxee to your iPad and let you watch streaming content, video shared by your friends and video files from your local network if you run the Boxee Media server. If you own a Boxee box, you can also send content from your iPad to your TV. No word on when the app will debut in the app store, but if Boxee is showing it off to people, the launch can't be too far away.
[Via CrunchGear]
Boxee offers sneak peek at iPad app in London originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - NBC's The Voice will use iTunes purchases as votes
The Voice is an NBC reality talent show that lets singers compete for US$100,000 and a recording deal with Universal Republic Records. Like other reality shows, The Voice lets viewers vote for their favorite contestants by phone, through the NBC Live app, and online at NBC.com. A new twist in the rules will also let people vote with their wallet by counting a vote every time someone buys the artist's song on iTunes.
Admittedly, some votes will be accidentally cast by iTunes users who are buying out of pleasure and not for voting reasons, but NBC and Universal Media Studios don't seem to mind. They seem happy with the new voting scheme which links sales to popularity and generates extra money for all involved.
NBC's The Voice will use iTunes purchases as votes originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Real Racing 2 HD brings console quality racing to the iPad
The words "console quality" have been bandied about quite a bit recently in relation to games written for Apple's iOS-powered devices. One of the games that kicked it all off was Firemint's Real Racing, which originally pushed the envelope of what the iPhone was capable of.
Of course when the iPad launched, Real Racing HD was released to take advantage of the larger screen and increased horsepower. Fast forward to last December when Firemint released Real Racing 2, which also showed off what the iPhone 4 could do. Since then, Apple has released the iPad 2 and soon after Firemint unleashed Real Racing 2 HD, but how does the latest and greatest installment match up? Read on to find out.
Continue reading Real Racing 2 HD brings console quality racing to the iPad
Real Racing 2 HD brings console quality racing to the iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Engadget goes hands-on with iOS 5
Our big sister site, Engadget, had a chance to go hands-on with iOS 5 the other day at WWDC and took oodles of screenshots to enjoy. TUAW, of course, has a number of writers who also have had a day or two to grope the new iOS, but who are limited by Non-Disclosure Agreements to what they can say about pre-release software.
As a result, we're going to point you to Jacob Schulman's lovely screenshots and galleries so that you can get a developer's-eye view of the new features that make iOS 5 so enchanting. Among my favorites? The notification screens seen above.
So many of us have wanted to be able to check mail, messages, weather, stock prices, and more at a glance -- this fall, it all comes to iPhone. I'm also pretty happy with the improvements to the camera app and the ability to bring up the camera from the lock screen. No more fumbling through unlocking the iPhone, finding the camera app, and then finally getting the camera pointed at the subject -- which has moved on in the interim.
Enjoy the photos at Engadget, and let us know what your most highly anticipated iOS 5 feature is.
Engadget goes hands-on with iOS 5 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Richard Dreyfuss offers a dramatic reading of Apple EULA
License agreements are dull...until they're dramatically performed by an Academy Award-winning actor. The folks at CNET asked Richard Dreyfuss to read sections of an Apple EULA in dramatic fashion, and he obliged. The result is silly, hilarious and enjoyable. Don't miss the last section, "Effective Until." It's especially, well, final.
Hats off to Richard for being a good sport.
Richard Dreyfuss offers a dramatic reading of Apple EULA originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - TUAW's Daily iPhone App: Office Jerk
I'm at the E3 video gaming conference, this week, where I've been asking the staff of our gaming-obsessed sister site, Joystiq, for some of their favorite apps. Managing Editor Justin McElroy told me he's gotten no end of amusement from Office Jerk, a free (ad-supported, though ads can be removed with a 99-cent purchase) download from the App Store.
It's more than a little goofy -- the idea is that you have a boring office mate on the screen, and it's your job to playfully annoy him by throwing various objects his way, Paper Toss-style. Part of the game is lining up your various shots and trying to get longer and longer combos (despite the fan that seems bent on blowing your throws off course), and the other part is just laughing at your calmly irate office mate who only throws you a look of disdain, which you can then try to hit for extra points.
It's simple fun, especially if you've got a wicked sense of humor. There's no Game Center integration or extras, unfortunately, but for a free download, Office Jerk does what it says on the box. I just can't recommend you become a real office jerk -- better to take out your workplace frustrations on this virtual co-worker.
TUAW's Daily iPhone App: Office Jerk originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iTunes fraud surge hits gift card balances, PayPal accounts
The frustration and questions surrounding iTunes App Store purchase fraud are (unfortunately) continuing. Over the past three weeks, we've received several first-hand reports of accounts with positive gift card balances being unexpectedly drained; often the charges are for in-app purchases for apps such as Section8's World War, Sega's Kingdom Conquest or Kamagames' Texas Poker. Even as Apple is pushing forward with iCloud, questions remain about the security and safety of those millions of accounts.
You can read the examples on Apple's discussion boards (stretching from November of 2010 until this week), a series of posts over at Betanews, or coverage at PC Pro -- but many of the stories are similar to the one below. Users who funded their accounts with gift cards saw those balances chewed through with unauthorized purchases; one user with PayPal funding for his account saw over $500 in fake purchases. The in-app buys were for apps the users never downloaded; most claim that their passwords were never compromised and only used for iTunes. Even if phishing or password compromises can explain some of the purchases, it's hard to imagine that all of these accounts were cracked.
Here's our first example, from mid-May. If you have similar instances, let us know in the comments or send us a tip. We're asking Apple's media team for answers, if there are any to be had.
I bought a $15 iTunes gift card from Apple so I could buy a chat app (Verbs). I also purchased some other apps (Monopoly, mostly because it's cheap, Bumpy Road and loaded a few free apps) which left me with roughly $7-ish dollars remaining in my account.
On 5/19, the following happened:
- I noticed that my store credit had decreased to 51 cents when I went to purchase another app, but thought nothing of it. Actually, my initial thought was maybe a purchase from the past had caught up with me. I wasn't sure.
- Later that evening I received an iTunes receipt email to the tune of a $99 in-app purchase for a game called "World War".
- I immediately tweeted about the issue and changed my password.
- From that I was able to glean info that the app was purchased on 5/18 at 7:59pm. A free app called World War and then a $99 in-app purchase for "1700 honor points." The strange thing is I've never downloaded nor purchased this app myself, it doesn't even exist on my device so this is not a case of the smurf-berries.
- I emailed Apple support and went to bed because their human-powered support line was closed by 10:30p.
Today I called Apple support and was on the line with them for close to 30-40 minutes. I explained everything above to the support person, who at the same time was IM'ing his iTunes store support contacts. They asked me when I had purchased the gift card, I told them at/around the 13th and what my first and last purchase was. I told them the first purchase was for Verbs, the last was Bumpy Road.
They investigated further and noticed that prior to the free app + in-app purchase that two $50 store credits were put into my account. At which point the free app was "purchased" along with the in-app purchase of $99 (which equaled to $108 with tax). This raised a flag with them and their Support Manager and they immediately froze my account and escalated my case to Apple's Fraud Dept. The support person says this was the fastest occurrence of this that he has ever seen and he along with others had to deal with the Smurfs case.
I'm convinced that they will refund the $7-ish dollars that was there before and they mentioned that the account should only be closed for 24-48 hours. During this time they will be investigating this issue and trying to piece together this on their end. Right now I'm less concerned with the refund and MORE concerned with the app developer and whatever scheme is going on.
As for the advice they gave me, basically to change my password (yadda, yadda) and turn off in-app purchases in Settings. They could not, however, explain to me how a free app + in-app purchase was associated with my account.
The developer of the app, Section8, are the same outfit who were sued over stealing user data.*
A second example, this one featuring multiple PayPal charges totaling over $500:
I basically started receiving emails from PayPal saying "You have just sent $44.95 to iTunes" and I was shocked because I did not buy anything. I immediately logged into PayPal and cancelled my payment agreement with iTunes. I received 11 charges of $44.95 each. I have filed a complaint with iTunes and PayPal but I have not received any reply yet.
From what I read online, it seems like it is not clear if iTunes has been hacked or if the Sega software used for the hack (which I never downloaded) has been compromised. I never had the feeling that my account had been compromised before. Everything worked perfectly fine, never had strange emails, phishing attempts, etc.
Our final report, with gift card balances being drained:
Shortly after loading $50 of gift card credit on my itunes account, a remaining balance of $37 (after some earlier purchases) was wiped out by Kamagames Texas Poker chips. I googled the problem and it seems like many many people have experienced the same thing, and a snotty response from Apple about it as well. Everyone affected seems to have been gift card users, or those with a positive itunes balance, rather than money being charged to a credit card.
I don't understand how this kind of fraud is being perpetrated but I am angry with Apple for not coming clean about it and explaining the problem given that it clearly seems something more specific than stolen usernames and passwords... The forum linked above is just one of many reporting this issue which seems to have started earlier this month.
iTunes fraud surge hits gift card balances, PayPal accounts originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Steve Jobs unveils new Apple campus that literally looks like a mothership
At a Cupertino City Council meeting last night, Steve Jobs presented plans for Apple's new campus off I-280 in Cupertino. As you can see from the image above, the campus resembles a spaceship. The entire campus will be one huge round building with a courtyard in the middle. The building itself will be four stories tall, and Apple plans to re-landscape the current area to include 6000 trees. A natural gas energy center will be on-campus to power the new building, and Apple will only rely on California's power grid as a backup.
Speaking to the City Council, Steve Jobs described the new campus (as transcribed by MacRumors): "It's a pretty amazing building. It's a little like a spaceship landed. It's got this gorgeous courtyard in the middle... It's a circle. It's curved all the way around. If you build things, this is not the cheapest way to build something. There is not a straight piece of glass in this building. It's all curved. We've used our experience making retail buildings all over the world now, and we know how to make the biggest pieces of glass in the world for architectural use. And, we want to make the glass specifically for this building here. We can make it curve all the way around the building... It's pretty cool."
Last November, Apple bought the former 98-acre HP campus that will be home to the new campus Steve Jobs showed off. The purchase of the 98-acre campus was in addition to a 50-acre site that Apple bought in 2006. You can check out Jobs' "keynote" to the Cupertino City Council below. Also, for those of you keeping track, this is the second time the Cupertino City Council has given Steve Jobs a standing ovation.
When I worked for Apple, coworkers who were located outside of Cupertino would frequently ask "So when are you going to the mothership next?" "Mothership," of course, being an epithet for Apple's campus at 1 Infinite Loop. Now the term is moving a step closer to the literal -- at least insofar as looks go.
Steve Jobs unveils new Apple campus that literally looks like a mothership originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 02:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - 2011 Apple Design Award winners announced
The 2011 Apple Design Award winners have been announced at WWDC. Although the Mac got left off the radar last year, in 2011 Apple's chosen to recognize greatness in all of its platforms. Winners get a MacBook Air, iPad 2, iPod touch and a snazzy trophy. They also get heaps of free coverage from sites like us, which means all of these apps can likely look forward to massive upticks in sales over the next week.
The winners are below. For apps we've covered before at TUAW, we've got links to our reviews/first looks. For the few apps we haven't covered yet, we've linked you directly to the App Store.
Many thanks to Steve Streza, who live-tweeted the results from the event.
Student
- Grades 2 by Tapity
- Pennant by Vargatron
- Pulse News Reader by Alphonso Labs
iPhone
- Cut the Rope by Chillingo
- Golfscape GPS Rangefinder by Shotzoom
- Infinity Blade by Chair Entertainment
Mac
- Capo by SuperMegaUltraGroovy
- Pixelmator by... Pixelmator
- Anomaly: Warzone Earth by 11 bit studios
iPad
- Osmos by Hemisphere Games
- Our Choice by Push Pop Press
- Djay by algoriddim
Congratulations to all the winners! Enjoy your well-deserved spoils.
2011 Apple Design Award winners announced originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - MobileMe: Some speculation about the transition to iCloud
I'll start this post off by stating the obvious -- there's a lot about how MobileMe services will transition to iCloud that we don't know yet. But I'm going to take a stab at some of the most pressing questions we've received from TUAW readers regarding the transition. As more facts come in, we'll update this post and/or let you know in a new article.
First, let's talk about what's available in MobileMe as it stands today. The details are in that graphic above, which is taken directly from the web-based MobileMe service. There are web-based versions of Mail, Contacts (Address Book), and Calendar (iCal); there's Find My iPhone, which has already become a free service; there's iDisk, a "cloud-based storage" solution; and then there are things like Gallery and iWeb hosting.
Speculation #1: Web-based versions of Mail, Contacts, and Calendar will be de-emphasized
I'd speculate that the web-based versions of Mail, Contacts, and Calendar will get less attention going forward, and might even disappear on June 30, 2012. Seriously -- who needs them? If you have a Mac or three, you'll sync Mail, Address Book, and iCal through the free iCloud service.
The same with your iOS devices, which will send Mail, Contacts, and Calendar changes to the iCloud, where they'll all be echoed to the rest of your digital world. For Windows users, you'll be using Outlook 2010 or 2007 to sync to the iCloud. The only scenario in which you might not be able to get to your "stuff" is when you're using a public computer of some sort at a hotel, on a cruise ship, or at a cybercafé in Spain. Of course, you don't want that to happen, so you'll have your iOS device with you. Hook up to Wi-Fi or use your 3G data service, and the problem is solved. That's why they call them mobile devices.
[The counterargument would be that dropping web-based access to PIM and email from iCloud would be a pretty big competitive disadvantage for the service, compared to Google and Microsoft offerings. It's equally likely that the web components will simply flip over from MobileMe to iCloud without any new features or engineering effort -- since Apple is already doing a passable job on them. -Ed.]
Speculation #2: iDisk disappears
Apple's already stated that iCloud will back up your content -- music, photos, apps, and documents. But there's nothing out there about what will happen to your other stuff. I personally have about 15 GB of iDisk storage available to me on MobileMe, of which I've actually used about 3 GB. All of my important data is sitting out in my Dropbox, syncing between my Macs and iOS devices.
I personally don't see the need for iDisk in this world of Dropbox, but there are others who may be using iDisk since they either don't know about Dropbox and similar services or don't want to migrate to them. I think iDisk is going to go extinct, but that Apple will provide iDisk users with a variety of third-party cloud storage solutions and warn them to migrate their data well in advance. There is a full year to prepare.
Speculation #3: Gallery is toast
Gallery was Apple's way of creating web-based photo albums of your photos for sharing with friends and relatives. Once again, I can't see a need for it in the post-MobileMe world. Apple has already provided an "out" to those who want to share their photos to the world -- iPhoto supports sharing pictures to both Flickr and Facebook. I don't know what Flickr's membership is these days, but Facebook has well over 600 million users, and a good number of them may be former or current MobileMe subscribers. Those two services are perfect for photo sharing, and I'd be willing to bet that the current number of photos hosted in Gallery is a tiny fraction of the number out on Facebook or Flickr.
Another reason I think Gallery is going away is the tendency for people to use iOS devices as a sort of electronic photo album. I don't know how many times I've seen my wife show off photos of our trips to friends or complete strangers using either her iPhone or iPad. It's a lot easier than telling them to go out to some long-winded MobileMe URL to see a gallery of pictures.
Speculation #4: So long, iWeb hosting
As the author of several editions of a book on iWeb, I have a vested interest in the future of this Apple product. However, the future just doesn't look all that bright for iWeb. The software hasn't been updated recently, and there is a lot of rumbling out on the Apple Support Forums about what will happen when MobileMe disappears.
My guess? Apple will once again tell MobileMe users that they need to find their own hosting. iWeb can publish websites to a number of hosts, so it's no big deal to republish on a new one. I even wrote a post almost two years ago about how to use free Dropbox space to host an iWeb site, so there's a solution.
Finally, a significant portion of the people who set up iWeb sites initially were putting together personal sites. Many of those people have probably gone the easy route and are either letting friends know about their lives via Twitter and Facebook, or have set up sites with free services, like Blogger or WordPress.com. Nevertheless, judging by the frustration and concern on Apple's support boards, this may be one of the trickiest transitions to manage.
Conclusion
Before some of our readers who are adverse to change go all ballistic on me in the comments, remember what I said at the beginning -- we don't really know what's going to happen to some of these services between now and the demise of MobileMe on June 30, 2012. All of this is speculation about what will happen, based on my personal perspective.
If you have an alternative idea, or you're a disgruntled MobileMe employee who wants to spill the beans, please let us know about it in the comments or send us a tip via the "tip us" button at the top of the page.
MobileMe: Some speculation about the transition to iCloud originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Infinity Blade creators say they've cleared $10M
This is when you start wondering if you're in the wrong line of work. In only six months, the popular iOS game Infinity Blade exceeded US$10 million in earnings, according to an Epic Games press release posted today.
The sword-fighting, third-person slasher game was released in December to much acclaim, although a TUAW reviewer experienced some disappointment with it. Many were wowed by the game's rich graphics, which were thought to be impossible on a handheld device like a smartphone. It's now clear that those graphics, combined with the popularity of role-playing games, have made Infinity Blade a hit and lead to Epic Games' impressive take.
Other iOS games have had huge profits before, but what is unique about Infinity Blade's earnings is that it's a relatively "expensive" game at $5.99. Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games, thinks that the success of Infinity Blade proves that iOS games don't have to be über-cheap to be successful.
"Infinity Blade's success proves that triple-A gaming experiences can be hugely successful on iOS and that there is a valuable, pent up demand for premium content like this," he said. It should also be noted that Epic Games netted $10 million, which means the game actually took in over $14.3 million in sales before Apple's 30 percent cut. That's an impressive take on both ends and leaves me wondering why I didn't go into game design.
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June 07, 2011
Epic Games and ChAIR Entertainment Announce Earnings from Infinity Blade Exceed $10 Million
Critically Acclaimed Game Ushers in New Era of Profitable High-end iOS Development and Generates Demand for Leading Game Engine Technology
CARY, NC AND SALT LAKE CITY, UT, JUNE 07, 2011 - Epic Games, Inc. and its award-winning Salt Lake City-based development studio, ChAIR Entertainment, announce that earnings from ChAIR's Infinity Blade have eclipsed $10 million in the first six months of release and created significant licensing interest in the underlying Unreal Engine 3 technology from developers worldwide.
Powered by Unreal Engine 3, Infinity Blade raises the bar for handheld gaming with stunning visuals and deep gameplay. Epic and ChAIR have released two free updates for the sword-fighting action adventure, Infinity Blade: Deathless Kings, a major expansion of the popular single-player experience, and Infinity Blade: Arena, a large add-on that includes the new Multiplayer and Survival modes.
"It's exciting to see the market so quick to embrace a premier handheld gaming experience such as Infinity Blade, and we couldn't be happier with the warm reception," said Donald Mustard, creative director of ChAIR Entertainment. "Furthermore, Apple has created an exciting, developer-friendly environment for iOS that has opened up many new doors for us."
"Infinity Blade's success proves that triple-A gaming experiences can be hugely successful on iOS and that there is a valuable, pent up demand for premium content like this," said Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games. We have been licensing Unreal Engine 3 very affordably to developers large and small for all kinds of games and applications and we're looking forward to our licensees achieving spectacular results of their own."
In addition to an uptick in Unreal Engine 3 licenses for commercial iOS games, Epic's community behind the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of Unreal Engine 3, dramatically surged upon the release of UDK with iOS support in December 2010. In less than six months, unique installations of UDK more than doubled, rising from 400,000 to more than 800,000.
Launched in December 2010 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, Infinity Blade has received dozens of accolades, winning IGN's 2010 Best iPhone Game mere days after release, with IGN saying, "This is what defines where iOS gaming is going in 2011 and beyond." Infinity Blade went on to win 1UP's Editor's Choice Best iPhone/iPad Game of the Year as well as the Slide to Play and TouchGen Game of the Year awards. Both TouchGen and GamePro deemed the game worthy of their Editor's Choice awards and perfect five-out-of-five star reviews. Pocket Gamer crowned Infinity Blade with its Gold Award, calling it "a gripping blend of intuitive touch controls, engaging role-playing, and sharp graphics." Infinity Blade was also named one of TechCrunch's top apps of the year, Fast Company's '7 Most Innovative iPad Apps' and Top10.com's 'Top 10 iPhone & Android Apps That Changed the World.' In February, Infinity Blade was honored with the 2011 International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGA) "Excellence in Design" award.
Infinity Blade is available for $5.99 from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, or at http://www.itunes.com/appstore. For additional information, fans can follow @InfinityBlade on Twitter and 'Like' Infinity Blade on Facebook.
About Infinity Blade
Taking handheld gaming to new heights, the graphically intense "Infinity Blade" features adrenaline-fueled sword battles and epic boss fights set in the realm of a fully 3D castle. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, the game's robust single-player mode features an intuitive combat interface and simple touch controls, which enable hardcore and casual gamers alike to engage in fun, furious battles. As play progresses, players gain experience, build stats and earn more powerful items to prepare their knight for the final encounter with the game's nemesis, the God-King. Additional content will be released free of charge via planned updates, including a fully integrated multiplayer mode, which enables players to find friends and other challengers to battle online via Game Center.
About ChAIR Entertainment
Founded in 2005, Salt Lake City-based ChAIR Entertainment is a subsidiary of Epic Games, Inc. Most recently, ChAIR introduced the action, sword-fighting adventure, "Infinity Blade" for iOS. "Infinity Blade" raised the bar of handheld gaming and received numerous Game of the Year and Editor's Choice Awards. Prior to that, ChAIR released the modern and masterful side-scrolling shooter, "Shadow Complex," published by Microsoft Game Studios exclusively for Xbox LIVE Arcade. The critically acclaimed "Shadow Complex" received multiple E3 and Editor's Choice Awards and was named Game of the Year by more than 40 media outlets. ChAIR is also responsible for the award-winning underwater action-shooter, "Undertow," released in 2007 for Xbox LIVE Arcade. Additional information on ChAIR can be found at http://www.chairentertainment.com. Follow @ChAIRGAMES on Twitter and "Like" ChAIR Entertainment Group on Facebook.
About Unreal Engine 3
The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed suite of integrated tools and scalability across platforms. Epic Games' research and development continually evolve Unreal Engine 3's highly mature toolset and content pipeline. Unreal Engine 3 is available across multiple platforms including iOS, Xbox 360(R) and PlayStation(R)3, PC, Mac and Android. Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers' productivity for computer and video games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated television shows. Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder and five-time winner of Game Developer magazine's Best Engine award in the US as well as the current holder and three-time winner of Develop magazine's Best Engine award in the UK. Developers can start using Unreal Engine 3 with the Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of the engine's award-winning toolset available at http://www.udk.com. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained at http://www.unrealengine.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its "Unreal" series, including "Unreal Tournament 3" for PC, PlayStation(R)3 and Xbox 360(R). Epic's "Gears of War" franchise has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide and won more than 50 Game of the Year awards. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the five-time winner of and Hall of Fame inductee for Game Developer magazine's Best Engine Front Line Award. Unreal Engine 3 has also held the Develop Industry Excellence Award in its category for the past three years. Additional information about Epic can be obtained at http://www.epicgames.com.
Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Unreal, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.Infinity Blade creators say they've cleared $10M originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple's steps toward backup in the cloud tread lightly on third-party developers
Jenna Wortham of the New York Times wrote, "How do you know if you've created a really great, useful iPhone app? Apple tries to put you out of business." That's a pretty common reaction to Monday's WWDC keynote, and the shock and awe was not limited to iPhone apps.
On Friday, TUAW mused about what Apple's return to cloud services might mean to backup-in-the-cloud developers. On Monday, Apple introduced iCloud, a way to push your music, photos, calendars and other data to the cloud so that it's "always accessible from your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac or PC," with instant access to that data across all your devices. While it does not appear that this service is any kind of substitute for a comprehensive backup strategy, it does show Apple continuing to move in the direction of taking charge of users' data protection needs.
TUAW was curious how third-party cloud developers would react to Apple's entry into an arena that might step on the toes of their current offerings. We talked to the developers of Dolly Drive, CrashPlan and Arq to ascertain their reactions to iCloud. What we found was this: iCloud isn't about to drive Mac backup solutions out of business, the way that the keynote announcements challenged products like Readability, Instapaper and Sparrow.
Dolly Drive
Dolly Drive provides online backups using Apple's Time Machine technology for Mac OS X. Its cloud storage solutions merge the Mac Time Machine user experience with offsite safety to guard against a calamity that takes down your local backups as well as your computer.
TUAW contacted Dolly Drive to see what they had to say about Apple's iCloud. Dolly Drive's spokesperson Leigh Kessler told TUAW, "iCloud is an example of Apple ingenuity and excites us as a solution for sharing among Apple devices. But we hope Mac users are not confused into thinking that iCloud's convenience is a substitute for true data backup and we think Apple would agree. Time Machine is still the most comprehensive way to protect and recover everything on your Mac and Dolly Drive is still the only way to do that in the cloud."
Kessler provided the following table to differentiate Dolly Drive from iCloud.
iCloud lets you iCloud doesn't Dolly Drive will - see all your itunes library from all your mac and apple devices
- stream a limited number of photos from your iOS devices onto your mac and Apple TV
- sync documents that have been integrated into the iCloud framework.
- Backup a set of items that are on your iOS devices
- provide Mac desktop or laptop backup
- provide automatic iPhoto sync
- backup for music that is deleted from your music library
- backup or sync of documents that don't comply with iCloud
- backup all and any OS X computer file to Dolly Grid cloud storage
- recover from a crash with Dolly Clone
- backup from anywhere your computer is multiple times a day
CrashPlan
CrashPlan provides an always-on cloud-based solution for online data backup. Instead of using a Time Machine interface, CrashPlan runs in the background of your Mac performing regular updates to remote servers. CrashPlan's Mike Evangelist told TUAW, "We are still absorbing the many facets of Apple's announcements, but our feeling is generally positive. First and foremost [iCloud] will validate cloud options for the average user. In a sense [it's] assuring non-technical people that the cloud is nothing to fear."
He explained, "As is typical with Apple's solutions, iCloud is stripped down to a few essential features. We see it as an opportunity to continue to provide robust, cross-platform solutions for home and business users. Small and large businesses have needs that are clearly not addressed by iCloud, including security, monitoring and management, the ability to run local servers, and a lot more. That's where CrashPlan PRO excels."
Arq and SyncPhotos
Stefan Reitshamer is the developer behind Arq, whose backup solution is built around Amazon's S3 cloud-based data storage infrastructure. He was intrigued by what Apple's new technology means. "Apple is trying to get rid of the file concept in OS X, just like iOS. There are no files in iOS -- there are only apps and their data. In the keynote we never saw a Finder window or a file -- only the new Launchpad. Likewise, the iCloud backup stuff is built into apps. So unless all your apps have added iCloud integration, iCloud backup isn't going to suffice."
"The syncing stuff looked very single-user," Reitshamer continued, "aside from the calendar sharing. The photo stream stuff was cool but it only synched to a single person's devices. You still can't do what my SyncPhotos app does (sync new photos from someone else's computer). It's not surprising. They've never been very interested in groupware; they're usually more focused on the individual user."
Conclusions
While iCloud approaches the notion of moving your data to the cloud, it still has a long way to go if Apple decideds to take it to a full backup solution. iCloud will ship with 5 GB of free storage (not counting purchased items like music and apps), with additional increments likely purchasable by the user.
Apple's steps toward backup in the cloud tread lightly on third-party developers originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Why didn't we see a Nuance announcement during WWDC?
One major rumor missing from the WWDC keynote yesterday was voice control. It was just last year that Apple purchased Siri, a popular voice companion app for iOS. Apple was also rumored to be working with Nuance to offer some form of voice control in its software.
References to Nuance were recently spotted in a developer version of Mac OS X Lion, and sources claim Nuance software is running at Apple's North Carolina data center. Even the Chief Mobile Technology Architect at Nuance was spotted in the WWDC audience yesterday.
Despite this mounting evidence, voice control was a no-show at WWDC. Both TechCrunch and Robert Scoble heard from sources that Apple's voice technology was not ready for a WWDC demonstration. It's there, and Apple is still working on it, but it's not quite ready for prime time. Perhaps Apple will wait to roll out this feature and use it to drum up added excitement when iOS 5 finally arrives this fall.
Why didn't we see a Nuance announcement during WWDC? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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