TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Daily iPhone App: Burnout Crash smashes with style

Mike Schramm — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:00:00 EST

I don't really care who you are or what kind of games you like. You should go to the App Store and buy Burnout Crash for 99 cents because it's on sale right now.

Done? Great. Now I'll tell you what the game's about. Criterion Games typically makes console games, most notably the Burnout series, in which cars are mashed up in incredibly gorgeous ways across races and other modes. Recently, the company released a downloadable console game called Burnout Crash, which was a top-down arcade version of one of Burnout's destruction-based modes.

Burnout Crash isn't a shabby port. Criterion clearly considered how to best adapt the game to Apple's touchscreen. The result is a lot of fun. You swipe cars around the screen to blow them up, earn points with combos and multipliers, and enjoy the chaotic fun.

The sounds in Burnout Crash must be heard to be believed. Not only are the crashing sounds perfectly implemented, but the arcade-style sounds are reminiscent of a casino slot machine. They ring out gorgeously as you play with various spinny wheels and jackpot game mechanics.

And at 99 cents during EA's big sale this weekend, this is absolutely a must-play game. Which is why you already bought it at the beginning of this post, right?

Daily iPhone App: Burnout Crash smashes with style originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 25 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patently Apple theorizes what Safari 3D would be like

Steven Sande — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:00:00 EST

Patently Apple keeps an eye on all of the patents coming out of Cupertino, California, and they've been seeing a lot of patents for a 3D interface for Safari. This does not mean that you'll be wearing special glasses to do web browsing; instead, it describes a way in which existing Apple patents can be used in a GUI to overlap and stack windows and content.

The website describes several uses of 3D stacking to provide a different web browsing experiences. First, there's a discussion of "Rotating Titles of URLs, Emails, Documents, Apps" described in a specific patent application -- in this method, windows are exposed edge on until you wish to use them, in which case they are rotated into view.

Next, Patently Apple talks about a second patent that describes how open windows are displayed in a three dimensional browsable parade. That's tied into yet another patent describing how to present and browse items in a tilted 3D space. A possible 3D interface could include windows that you could flick through much in the way you can currently view images or file icons in Cover Flow.

As usual, none of these items may ever appear in an actual shipping Apple product, but it's fascinating to see what the minds in Cupertino are thinking.

Patently Apple theorizes what Safari 3D would be like originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 25 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tim Cook declines dividends being paid to Apple employees

Kelly Hodgkins — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:32:00 EST

Apple's Board of Directors approved a dividend equivalent payment to employees holding restricted stock units, but this won't apply to Tim Cook, says a report in MacRumors. These RSUs vest after a period of time and are usually given to employees to entice them to stay with the company for a length of time.

Tim Cook, for example, was awarded 1.125 million RSUs when he stepped into the CEO position last year. At the current dividend payment of US$2.65 per share, Cook would receive a payment of approximately $75 million. Keeping with his character as a kind and gentle leader of Apple, Cook is refusing to accept this dividend, says a recent SEC filing.

[Via MacRumors]

Tim Cook declines dividends being paid to Apple employees originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 25 May 2012 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone, iPad optics add night vision for covert missions

Kelly Hodgkins — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:00:00 EST

The iPhone and iPad are consumer devices, but they're powerful enough to be used in a variety of industries, including the military and law enforcement. One such military tool is a new hardware and software system from Special Operations Apps that lets you attach an iOS device to military grade optics like an infrared imaging system, night vision equipment, or laser range finder. The product works with current optics and will be sold as the Operations Apps/System for Optical Attachments system, also known as [SOA]2.

In the [SOA]2 system, the smartphone or tablet will become a heads-up-display that'll let the user easily view their field of view without squinting or having to keep one eye on the ocular and one eye on their surroundings. The app supports geo-tagging and high-definition video recording so users can mark their location and save what they see for later review. A future version will include facial and object recognition as well as advanced targeting. The company completed testing and is now demonstrating the technology to law enforcement, defense contractors and government security agencies.

[Via SlashGear]

Show full PR text

Military-grade optics meet iPhone and iPad via US Night Vision and Special Operations Apps

[SOA]2 new technology hardware and software renders comprehensive integration

TAMPA, Fla., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) --

The Apple iPhone, iPad, and military-grade optics can now be seamlessly and simultaneously integrated to deliver mobile data-recording, navigation, and instant situation-analysis in a comprehensive solution to debut at this week's SOFIC, according to its developers.

Special Operations Apps/System for Optical Attachments - also known as [SOA]2 - can allow geo-tagging in the standard Military Grid Reference System in frame-stamped high-definition video, geo-located and accurate within seven (7) meters. The integrated smart device can be attached permanently or temporarily to optics, weapons, or equipment, according to K. Dominic Cincotti, founder of SOA and its affiliated company, MW Research and Development, Inc.

"In addition to the Apple iPhone 4S and the New iPad," Cincotti said, "we're also excited about the platforms and devices like the Windows phones, the Android, the Lumia 9000, and the Nokia PureView, with its game-changing 41-megapixel camera." He added that all of these are under consideration for [SOA]2 development, and his companies are in continuing talks with Nokia.

Generation III night vision devices, long-range day optics, infra-red imaging systems, and laser range finders, among others, can now be configured with commercially available smart devices - including the iPhone 4S and the New iPad - from the [SOA]2 cluster of newly patented and patent-pending hardware and software.

The Dream Team
To produce [SOA]2, Cincotti's companies led the program development with proprietary solutions, including an intellectual property cluster for attaching mobile smart devices onto weapons. Cincotti established a Joint Teaming Alliance (JTA) with US Night Vision, Hoodman USA, and Jonathan Springer, the US Army captain who created the critically acclaimed Tactical Nav App that has been soldier-deployed in the fiercest combat zones.

"This is the Dream Team for optics, US Night Vision hardware, and software, and a chance for us all to help customize the future," Cincotti said, "and with the US Army's announced intention to issue smart devices to soldiers, [SOA]2 is the best use of the newest technology and the army technology already in hand."

US Night Vision's vice president of sales and marketing, Chris Byrd, said "With [SOA]2 and USNV Hardware, warfighters can use their smart devices as a calibrated, heads-up display for optics to improve situational awareness. No longer will they have to squint through a scope and close one eye - or be locked into goggles."

"We are taking military-grade optics and turning them into mobile high definition data-recording navigational and analysis systems," Byrd said, "while still maintaining the integrity of the original optics that have already been purchased in previous acquisition cycles."

Tactical Nav's developer, CPT Springer, said, "Bottom line up front, this joint teaming alliance is about integrating the best uses of technology we have right now and putting this technology into the hands of our combat soldiers downrange."

"The soldier already knows these mobile smart devices," CPT Springer said, "it's already in his pocket, and he's already an expert at using it."
[SOA]2 completed testing earlier this month in North Carolina, Cincotti said, and at SOFIC the Special Operations community, law enforcement, government security agencies, and major defense contractors will have the opportunity to schedule meetings for field demonstrations and to discuss inclusion in the [SOA]2 program.

"We do our best to answer and anticipate the needs of special operations," Cincotti said, "and we are looking forward to continued input from the operators and SF soldiers as [SOA]2 progresses to adoption and deployment."

Intellectual Property Cluster
[SOA]2 comprises a cluster of interlocking intellectual property, including issued patents, patents pending, and proprietary IP. SOA and MW R&D have been issued two patents already this year, executed three patent filings addressing mobile devices on weapons, and filed more than a dozen US and international patents in the last five years. US Night Vision has a patent pending, and Hoodman USA has a patent on their products.
Special Operations Apps/System for Optical Attachments [SOA]2 includes:

Multi-use Optics Case Integrator
Adapter Rings machined from Ultem 2300, which is virtually unbreakable and super-lightweight
Hoodman System Accessories, now modified for mobile devices for [SOA]2, including Day/Night Solutions to reduce glare and light bleed
A proprietary software platform that includes a range of Special Operations-specific tactical navigation apps, integrating various optics hardware and mobile-device capabilities

Future iterations of [SOA]2 now being developed by Cincotti's companies are expected to deliver Facial and Object recognition and advanced targeting, on smart phone platforms, as well as on iPads and tablets. The Tactical Nav App will feature tracking of a unit, or an individual within a unit, and a "John Madden-style" tool that allows for mark-up.

US Night Vision, founded in 2001 and located in Roseville, CA, has been providing federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the US Military, with advanced night vision, thermal imaging, infrared and lasers. The company handles the exportation of night vision systems following U.S. Department of State, ITAR guidelines. In addition to the exclusive line of US Night Vision products, manufactured and assembled at the Roseville facility, the company is also a national distributor for L3 ETO (Electron Tube Operations), FLIR GS (Government Systems), FLIR CVS (Commercial Vision Systems), Laser Technologies, Inc., and a point of sale for L3 Warrior Systems, Laser Devices Lasers and other related optics and accessories.

Hoodman USA, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Torrance, CA, manufactures digital camera tools, including Glare Fighting LCD Loupes, Ratcheting variable angle viewers, the fastest, longest lasting CompactFlash memory cards and the world's first steel-plated, ruggedized SDHC memory card line. Hoodman has more than 500 dealers in the US and around the world.

CPT Springer, while a Battalion Fire Support Officer in Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne, began developing what would become the Tactical Nav App. He spent more than $30,000 of his own money to create the app, now available for download on the iTunes App Store.

From Bloomberg
A New Science of Stealth
January 2012's Popular Science cover story, Invisible Warriors and the New Science of Stealth, reports the two biggest new tech advances in modern camouflage, as "Camo Gets A Makeover."

Popular Science (The Future Now) reported SOA's development of site-specific camouflage using an app and a mobile smart device that combines photographs of a given location into customized, terrain-specific patterns that can be digitally printed directly onto a garment or fabric. One new camo technology in the Popular Science article is simultaneous camo stealth, in which multispectral countermeasures are simultaneously deployed for manned and unmanned vehicles, equipment, hardware, and weapons, for maximum tactical advantage.

Another SOA breakthrough, the CamoScience[TM] app, was featured in CNN and NBC TV news programs last year, demonstrating the power of iPhone-like smart devices with feature-rich app attributes, including geo-positioning, augmented reality overlays, and Area of Operation HD in-camera imagery. In 2009, intellectual property created by MW R&D garnered a $43 million contract award for its licensee.

The CamoScience[TM] commercial effort is led by Cathlena Spencer, SOA chief technology officer, teaming with Apple iTunes award-winning developers of the Theodolite App, a best-selling navigation app.

For MW R&D/SOA, Dave Mullins, a veteran operator with experience on four continents, leads in-house subject matter experts, along with Mark Tocci, a veteran Ranger and a patent-pending inventor.

The Special Operations Apps/System for Optical Attachments in-house team included Sam Thompson, physicist, veteran of NASA's Mars Rover project, and a patent-pending inventor; and Ronnie Medina, veteran special forces operator and project consultant.

The Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) is an annual event, bringing together more than 7,000 attendees from government and industry and featuring more than 350 exhibiting companies.

Special Operations Apps is a privately held company based in Wilmington, NC, strategically situated between Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune and convenient to Virginia Beach, VA.

iPhone, iPad optics add night vision for covert missions originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 25 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tons of apps on sale to kick off Memorial Day weekend

Mike Schramm — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:00:00 EST

It seems like it's been a while since we had a big holiday weekend full of app sales, but the wait is over: Memorial Day is coming up in just a few days, and app developers are bringing down prices all over the store to celebrate!

EA's got most of its games on sale for just 99 cents, including Flight Control Rockets, Trenches 2, and Burnout Crash. Some really great deals in there.
Because We May is a big coordinated indie gaming sale going on, and pretty much every great indie game on iOS has been brought down to 99 cents. Too many great titles in there to list: Puzzlejuice, Swords and Soldiers, Fieldrunners, Super Mega Worm, 1-bit Ninja, Aftermath, League of Evil 2, and a whole lot more. Seriously -- go buy some iPhone games.
Above has dropped to free.
Cut the Rope: Experiments is free.
Mini Motor Racing HD has gone free.
And side scroller racing game Dream Track Nation has gone free as well.
Business Card Reader from Shape Services is now $2.99, down from $4.99.

Man oh man that's a lot of great, really cheap games. Especially that Because We May sale -- seriously, go look at it, both for iOS and Steam.

Tons of apps on sale to kick off Memorial Day weekend originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boost case for iPhone keeps the battery going

Mel Martin — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:00:00 EST

I love my iPhone 4S, but I am one of many who doesn't get great battery life from the phone. Apple has done some firmware updates that 'addressed' the problem, but I think battery life on my phone is still sub-par.

I've looked at a few battery cases, but many were pretty clunky and didn't seem worth the hassle. A friend tipped me to the Boost Case, and I found it on Amazon and gave it a try. The case I ordered fits the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, and is made of a hard rubber nonslip surface. You charge the case with a micro USB cable (included). The flat built-in battery puts out 1700 mAh. I plugged it in overnight, and blue LEDs on the back of the case confirmed it had a full charge.

I slipped the iPhone into the 2 piece case, and started my day. Every time I looked at the screen, the battery reading was 100%. It was 100% through the morning, through lunch, all afternoon, and well into the evening when the iPhone started running on its own battery and I saw 92% about 10PM. The phone got normal use through the day. Lot's of email, some snapped photos which were forwarded to others, even part of a Netflix movie and the usual phone calls. I tried the same routine the next day with the same results.

When I first got the case the iPhone reported that 'charging was not supported with this accessory', but the iPhone was indeed charging. After the first try I never saw the message again. I tested photos with the case on to make sure the case did not interfere with the camera lens. Pictures looked fine with no obstruction visible. Some users have reported shooting with flash can leave a bit of a haze at the lower right of the image. I made a few tests and the images looked fine, but your experience may vary.

The Boost Case comes in a variety of colors, some models have a removable battery pack, others have it integrated. The one I tried uses an integrated battery and is only US $47.50 at Amazon. That's a pretty low price to completely solve the vexing problem of iPhone battery life. There are plenty of cases out there that provide battery extending functions. The Boost Case works very well and is worth a look if your iPhone battery life is less than stellar. Feel free to share your experiences with the Boost Case or any others that you have tried.

Boost case for iPhone keeps the battery going originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily Update for May 24, 2012

Steven Sande — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:30:00 EST

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Subscribe via RSS

Daily Update for May 24, 2012 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IndieDevLab goes free

Victor Agreda, Jr. — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:00:00 EST

While TUAW will be at IndieDevLab hoping to get a look at upcoming (awesome) apps, we just got some great news for developers who wish to attend. Thanks to sponsorships, the price of the event just went free (just like Appsterdam, which will also be hosting a weeklong coworking space where yours truly will give a lunch chat).

The full press release is below. Congrats to IndieDevLab -- it's great there are plenty of alternative venues around WWDC for those who couldn't get tickets.

Show full PR text

Today we are proud to announce our sponsors of IndieDevLab, with notable names such as Good Technology, Flexibits, Icon Factory and 360i Dev. These incredible companies have agreed to sponsor indiedevlab, which is going to help make this event even more memorable.

One More Thing. After all of our newly announced and gracious sponsors, were are able to do something we could haven't done before. Starting today IndieDevLab is a free conference. For All.

What does this mean for all the attendees that have already paid? Well we are working on refunding you the full amount as soon as possible. However saying that, we are working on a little something to ensure you guarantee your place at the event itself. Stay tuned as we turn this into the best for the community.

We are working hard as well to formally announcing our schedule of speakers, keep watch in the coming days as we make our announcements

IndieDevLab goes free originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HAND Stylus jumps from Kickstarter to your iOS device

Steven Sande — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:00:00 EST

While the bloggers here at TUAW are of varied opinions about whether or not one should use a stylus with a touchscreen, we love to see the products that innovative manufacturers come up with. A recent Kickstarter project that is now 514 percent funded and in production, the HAND Stylus (US$25) comes from a Bay Area designer who was unhappy with the many styluses already on the market. Read on for a review, video, and a chance to win a HAND Stylus.

Designer Steve King uses many mechanical pencils and pens in his daily work, and wanted a stylus that mimicked the weight and feel of one of those pricey writing tools. The HAND Stylus is a beautifully-balanced six-sided metal stylus that feels perfect in your hand. It's not fat and stubby like some styluses, nor short and too lightweight like others.

Gallery: HAND Stylus

The HAND Stylus comes in a rainbow of colors, and the point where you grip the stylus is nicely knurled so you can keep a nice grip on it. There's a stainless steel pocket clip on the HAND that keeps the stylus close by whether you put it into a pocket or attach it magnetically to an iPad 2 or third-generation iPad. The stylus also makes a wonderful gift, as it comes in a metal gift box that is very classy.

One feature I really like about the HAND after using a competing stylus for a while is that the tip is retractable. The tip of my other stylus has been a magnet for dust and gooey food residue, while I can retract the tip of the HAND when I'm done using it to keep it clean. That tip also rotates with each click of the retract button, ensuring that the tip wears evenly. The tip, by the way, is only 4 mm across and allows for fine control while drawing, writing, or selecting tiny buttons on your iPhone.

I expect that I'm going to have to apologize to the manufacturer of the stylus I used up until now, because from now on I'm going to be using a HAND Stylus. Two lucky TUAW readers are going to win a HAND Stylus and here are the rules:

Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button.
The entry must be made before May 27, 2012 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time.
You may enter only once.
Two winners will be selected and each will receive a HAND Stylus valued at US$25.
Click Here for complete Official Rules.

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HAND Stylus jumps from Kickstarter to your iOS device originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jetpack Joyride goes to the dogs

Mike Schramm — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

Man, Halfbrick's just not giving up on Jetpack Joyride. We just recently had a huge gadgets update for the game that added all sorts of tweaks to the jetpack action, and now here's another big update, out today, that gives Barry Steakfries a canine pal to run around with. Flash the Dog is coming to the update, and as you can see in the trailer below, he's cute as all get out.

Flash will help grab coins and break piggy banks for you, and he'll even ride along, both in his own little jetpack, and by hopping on the various vehicles Barry can acquire during his run. There are a few new other gadgets as well, including headphones that remix the game's music, and a "turbo boost" gadget that will add rings to hit for an extra burst of speed. Jetpack Joyride was a really high quality game when it first launched, and Halfbrick has really gone above and beyond the call of duty with all of these updates since then.

Jetpack Joyride goes to the dogs originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hack in the Box conference features iPhone Dev Team

Victor Agreda, Jr. — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:40:00 EST

Turns out there are awesome conferences all over the world, and the hotness of mobile has only increased the number of quality get-togethers out there. Case in point: Hack in the Box, currently underway in Amsterdam. Learn more about the conference here or check out the agenda here.

Friday May 25 is a presentation by the Dream Team, but today was a presentation by MuscleNerd about the evolution of the iPhone baseband and unlocks. Cool stuff if you're into security or the mechanisms behind unlocking an iPhone.

Hack in the Box conference features iPhone Dev Team originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Introducing a better mobile web experience for TUAW

Victor Agreda, Jr. — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:20:00 EST

Remember when the iPhone debuted and tuaw.com crashed mobile Safari? Good times. We quickly rolled out i.tuaw.com as an interim solution, but it was very stripped down and not ideal. We eventually added the ability to visit the full site, and the full site no longer crashes Safari (and looks great on the iPad, by the way). Today, I'm very happy to announce another iteration of our mobile site, located at m.tuaw.com.

You may notice some similarities to the Engadget mobile site, as it is based on that site's mobile implementation. We're especially excited about a few things:

Optimized for your iPhone - and your other phones, too
Touch driven navigation (swipe through featured articles, etc)
Commenting integration w/ Livefyre
Video support
Share articles to FB, Twitter or Email

Our thanks to everyone at AOL who made this happen!

Introducing a better mobile web experience for TUAW originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Walk and Solar Walk apps now track the Space X Dragon

Mel Martin — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:00:00 EST

The two bestselling astronomy apps, Star Walk and Solar Walk for iOS, can now find and track the Space X Dragon, the first commercial vehicle to visit the International Space Station.

The Dragon was launched Tuesday. When you search for the spacecraft, you'll see it's current position. As I write this, it's in orbit next to the ISS. Using the augmented-reality feature, you likely can find the Dragon when it is in a good position overhead.

I didn't try to find Dragon in the night sky, but it was easy to find on my iPhone. I could use the search command to find by name, or I could look on the last 30-day launches list. It appears centered on the screen in the correct orientation to the ISS and the star background. You also can get some specifics on the Dragon position and a bit of history. Use AirPlay mirroring and an Apple TV, and you can get it on the big screen, great for teachers or sharing with friends.

I was interested in how the spacecraft was added so quickly to the app, and the developers told me they were contacted by the Space X people and wanted it added. Space X helped with the math and collaborated with Vito Technologies to get the 3D model correctly displayed.

Star Walk is available for US$4.99. Solar Walk is a $2.99. Some screen shots are in the gallery below.

Gallery: TheDragon spacecraft as seen in Star Walk for iOS

Star Walk and Solar Walk apps now track the Space X Dragon originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tweetbot update adds location-based searching

Megan Lavey-Heaton — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:30:00 EST

The 2.4 update to Tweetbot for iPhone and iPad adds a number of new features, but the biggest one is an updated search feature that gives users the chance to view tweets made nearby. You can change location to do searches in different areas.

Other changes include:

Improved search box
Adding top tweets to browse section, and moving the trends and people categories there as well
Double-tap search tap to open a search with the keyboard
Keyword mute fulters
Offline favorite and read-later support
Dismiss web and map views on the iPad with a 2-finger swipe down gesture. iPad users also can hold down on an image for options when viewing it in full screen
Swipe to the right on profile views to go back a level
Sending items to pinboard marks them as unread
A number of other tweaks and bug fixes

Tweetbot update adds location-based searching originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook launches Instagram-like "Camera" app

Michael Grothaus — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:15:00 EST

What do you do after spending a billion dollars buying a popular photography app? If you're Facebook, you then release your own branded app that does the exact same thing. Yes, Facebook has just launched the Facebook Camera app. The app allows you to take photos or select current photos from your iPhone's camera roll and upload them directly to your Facebook Timeline. Like Instagram, Facebook camera allows you to apply filters (though there are only 16 for now) before uploading your pics.

Besides filter support, the app also allows you to crop and rotate your photos, batch upload them (something the current Facebook app can't do), and follow your friends' photo feeds. All in all, if you're an Instagram fan, you won't be too impressed with Facebook Camera because Instagram can do much more (such as hash tag, tilt-shift, etc). And fans of Instagram, worry not. The Instagram app is still alive and kicking on the App Store and shows no signs of going anywhere.

Facebook Camera is a free download.

Facebook launches Instagram-like "Camera" app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple pulls Airfoil Speakers Touch from the App Store (Updated)

Megan Lavey-Heaton — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:55:00 EST

Update: CoM says a tipster tells them this is because Airfoil Speakers Touch may be duplicating functionality we're going to see in iOS 6. That was our guess as well.

Apple has pulled Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil Speakers Touch from the App Store. The app, which made it possible to stream from a computer to an iOS-capable device using Airfoil, had been on the store since 2009. Airfoil Speakers Touch 3 was released last month.

The developers say that Apple informed them of the removal on Tuesday, but did not receive a clear answer as to why Apple removed the app. As far as they can tell, they're in full compliance. Airfoil Speakers Touch 3 added the ability to receive audio from other iOS devices and iTunes.

We'll have more on this story as it develops.

Apple pulls Airfoil Speakers Touch from the App Store (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Satechi Bluetooth Multi-Media Remote for iPhone, iPad

Steven Sande — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:00:00 EST

For those exasperating situations when you just can't be bothered to get up out of your seat and reach for the iPhone or iPad you're using to watch video or listen to music, accessory manufacturer Satechi has just the answer. It's the Bluetooth Multi-Media Remote Control (US$39.99), another product that seems to be the definitive answer to a nonexistent problem. As with the person in the photo above, you too can use a Bluetooth remote to control an iPhone that is within grabbing distance.

One feature is rather cool -- the ability to use the remote as a shutter button for taking photos with an iPhone up to 33 feet away. Of course, just make sure you're not on a cruise when you leave your iPhone unattended for photographic purposes.

Some of the other intended uses for the Satechi Bluetooth Remote appear to involve controlling a docked iPhone or iPad that is pumping out music or your favorite action flick. For some reason, I thought that beaming tunes or movies to your Apple TV from the iOS device would do the trick, but obviously I'm not a Satechi PR person.

The biggest laugh in the list of use cases is "Siri activation," presumably for those times when you can't be bothered to push the button on your iPhone to have Siri bend to your will. Instead, you'll be holding the Satechi Bluetooth Remote in your hand, and you'll use that to tickle Siri. Sigh.

Still, there may be TUAW readers for whom this device is the answer to their prayers. For those individuals, Satechi has thoughtfully provided a video.

[via Gizmodo]

Satechi Bluetooth Multi-Media Remote for iPhone, iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Credit card-sized stylus in the works at Quirky

Steven Sande — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:30:00 EST

Quirky is a design shop that uses ideas from a crowd of contributors and influencers to create new products. In the past, it's come up with some incredibly useful Apple-related accessories like the US$12.99 Power Curl, which has made its inventor almost $80,000 in royalties. Now the company is evaluating a new idea -- a touchscreen stylus called the Cipher (expected price $4) that fits in your wallet like a credit card.

That's because it is a credit card, made with a capacitive material that acts just like your finger or a more traditional stylus. When you want to draw on your iPhone or iPad, you grab the Cipher from your wallet and go to town. There's less chance of losing the Cipher like a regular stylus, and the fact that it will be sold in a 2-pack means you can always have at least one in your wallet.

At this point, Cipher's still in the product evaluation phase, but keep your eyes open for the clever flat stylus in the near future.

Credit card-sized stylus in the works at Quirky originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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North Carolina approves Apple's plans for 4.8-megawatt fuel cell facility

Steven Sande — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:00:00 EST

Things are looking green around Apple's Maiden, North Carolina data center, and it's not just due to the fact that it's springtime. The North Carolina Utilities Commission has approved (PDF) Apple's plans to construct and operate a 4.8-megawatt fuel cell facility at the data center, providing green power for at least a portion of the electricity needs of the huge location.

As noted previously on TUAW, Apple will be using natural gas-powered fuel cells called Bloom Boxes to generate electricity and exhaust CO2 and water to the environment with no combustion byproducts. The natural gas will come from a local pipeline provider; that gas will be offset by purchases of biogas from another provider, keeping the power as green as possible.

The installation will be the nation's biggest private fuel cell energy project. Apple already uses some of the Bloom Boxes at the Cupertino campus; manufacturer Bloom Energy is located in nearby Sunnyvale, CA. The approval of the fuel cell power plant at the Maiden facility follows a similar approval last week when Apple got the OK to build a 20-megawatt photovoltaic solar facility.

North Carolina approves Apple's plans for 4.8-megawatt fuel cell facility originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Snap! camera case for iPhone has working shutter button

Kelly Hodgkins — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:30:00 EST

Do you use your iPhone like a camera and want an authentic look and feel? Then you should check out the Snap! case from Bitplay. As noticed by Swiss Miss, the case mimics the outer casing of a retro camera and even has a working shutter button. The backside of the case has dials and buttons that match the styling of your typical 35-mm shooter. Thankfully, these decorations won't get in the way of you using your iPhone as a phone.

You can grab the Snap! case for US$49.99 from Dynamism, popular online retailer from Japan that specializes in exports. You can check out the camera case in the promotional video below.

[Via Swiss Miss]

Snap! camera case for iPhone has working shutter button originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The TechCrunch iPad app is slick and simple

Victor Agreda, Jr. — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:15:00 EST

If you're looking for an app-based TechCrunch experience on your iPad, here it is. The iPad app is a streamlined experience over the site in Safari, presenting a simple list of categories to choose from, and 3 basic feeds: the main river (which can be narrowed using those categories), trending stories and curated tweets. There's a lot more under the hood, however.

Commuters will be pleased to know there's a "Save for later" option when clicking the "Share" icon. You can, of course, also share stories via email or social media, and the app allows you to tie your Facebook account in (TechCrunch uses Facebook comments, primarily). My favorite feature is the easy access to Crunchbase data alongside each article.

While it's easy to click into more info, the app never goes too deep to get you lost. I can't stand when apps just layer interfaces on top, over and over, and you have to "flip" the pages just to get back to the main screen. The TechCrunch app uses a familiar "back" and "next" system, although it is often labelled in context (Saved Articles takes you back to your list but Explore may take you further down the rabbit hole of data). This makes reading articles a breeze, and makes it easy to find out more information without being overhwhelmed.

About the only problem I encountered was with the curated tweets. When jumping to a story on The Next Web, the smallish webview that takes up the lower half of the screen was overwhelmed by a slow cover-up from TNW urging you to register, or something, and it happened to cover the article I was trying to read!

Aside from things beyond the app's control, such as annoying web design habits, it's a great way to read TechCrunch on your iPad. TUAW's imaginary friend, our own iPad app, is very jealous! The app is free, so give it a try yourself.

The TechCrunch iPad app is slick and simple originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Considering how Tim Cook is changing Apple

Kelly Hodgkins — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:00:00 EST

Adam Lashinsky, Sr. of Fortune takes an interesting look at Tim Cook and how the new CEO is changing Apple. He spends a great deal of time writing about Cook's business practices and the philosophy that'll shape the Apple of the future. Lashinsky writes,

In general, Apple has become slightly more open and considerably more corporate. In some cases Cook is taking action that Apple sorely needed and employees badly wanted. It's almost as if he is working his way through a to-do list of long-overdue repairs the previous occupant (Jobs) refused to address for no reason other than obstinacy.

He also talks about Cook's relationship with Apple employees and presents Cook as a much more approachable leader than Steve Jobs who was "simultaneously revered, loved, and feared." You can read the entire article on Fortune's website.

Considering how Tim Cook is changing Apple originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung accuses Apple of withholding evidence

Kelly Hodgkins — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:30:00 EST

Earlier this week, CEOs from Apple and Samsung met for court-ordered mediation talks that turned out to be fruitless. Now, the two companies are back to their legal hijinks with Samsung claiming Apple is withholding evidence, according to a report in FOSS Patents.

Samsung is asking the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to penalize Apple for not complying with an April 12, 2012 order that required Apple to provide Samsung with documents from related proceedings. Apple tried to comply, but some of the documents were from ITC investigations and the ITC wouldn't let Apple share them with Samsung.

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents believes Samsung is using this document request to delay the trial. It will take time for the district court and the ITC decide which documents can and cannot be shared with the Korean company. Apple is asking for clarification from the court on this point and is waiting for a response.

Samsung accuses Apple of withholding evidence originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me adjust app volume

Erica Sadun — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:00:00 EST

Dear Aunt TUAW,

Is there any app you know of that i could use to turn down the volume of individual/specific apps on my Mac without turning down the whole of the system.

If you've ever used it on windows seven then you'll know how useful it is.

Any apps you could recommend. i'm willing to pay (but not that much - just in case apple introduces its own solution?)

Your loving nephew,

Ben

Dear Ben,

You'll want to take a look at Audio Hijack Pro from Rogue Amoeba. With it, you can hijack each application you want to adjust and apply a filter (Auntie imagines "gain", with the gain turned down) to tweak the sound levels. You can read more about using Audio Hijack Pro for per-application volume tweaks in this write-up.

Rogue Amoeba's Paul Kafasis explains, "While Audio Hijack Pro is geared as a recording tool, we've seen lots of users taking advantage of it for audio adjustment as well. Once an app is hijacked, Audio Hijack Pro provides fantastic control over the audio output. The Mute button is handy for temporarily silencing annoying apps, and the Effects area provides all sorts of power. The Gain slider found there makes it possible to turn audio down or up. As well, plugins like Double Gain can amp things up further (helpful on laptops with weaker speakers), while the 10-band equalizer is nice to have in all sorts of apps which lack their own."

Holding your breath for a 10.8 or 10.9 feature direct from Apple? Kafasis told Auntie, "It seems rather unlikely Apple is going to add this - it's been a desire since 10.0, and has never been added."

Audio Hijack Pro offers a free trial period so you can experiment before buying.

Best of luck,

Auntie T.

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me adjust app volume originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Platter: novel photo-sharing social network for keen cooks

Richard Gaywood — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:00:00 EST

How do you launch a social networking site in this day and age, long after the likes of Facebook and Twitter seized the world? One answer is "micro-social networks": designed with a clear and specific purpose in mind, they can fulfill that purpose better than any of the generalists like Facebook.

Platter is a new micro-social network app dedicated home cooking. It allows you to take pictures of food you make and upload them to show the world, tagging them with the you used ingredients. You can then search through those ingredient tags, finding inspiration for something to make with the ingredients you have to hand. As you'd expect, you can also do the usual social networking things, like follow people whose food you find interesting, and post comments and "likes" on pictures.

"Why do I need this?" you might ask. "I have Instagram and Twitter, Facebook and Foodspotting. Why do I need another app?" Well, the Platter team cleverly identified that in fact none of these apps are exactly what you need if you're a home cook looking to show off. Instagram has plenty of food pics, but lacks the ingredient tagging feature. Twitter and Facebook are more general purpose. Foodspotting is designed around the idea of taking pictures of food when eating out, not for home cooking. Platter is complementary to these services.

To underscore this, it has (as you'd probably expect) the ability to cross-post pictures to Facebook and Twitter. These cross-posts are in the form of links to Platter's attractive web interface (self-promotion alert: that's my own Platter page), from where you can drill down into individual pictures. This web view feature is already fuller-featured than Instagram's pared-down approach, as you can navigate from users to pictures and back again, and the Platter team are planning on expanding this further in the future.

Gallery: Platter, the social network for keen cooks

Technically, Platter works pretty well. It's been developed by a small team of five people (for both iOS and Android versions) alongside their day jobs, and early on there were some rough edges that betrayed the app's homespun origins -- the occasional layout glitch or failed post. Subsequent patches have mostly fixed the problems. There's still the odd interface quirk -- I didn't find it particularly easy to navigate through the app at first, and sometimes tap targets seem to be frustratingly unresponsive -- but nothing too annoying. I couldn't test the Android version, but I must at least note that it has one -- so your Android-toting friends aren't left out in the cold.

There are some usability decisions that are quite refreshing, too. There's no fancy/hackneyed (delete according to your biases) photo filters, for one thing; if you're suffering from Instagram Fatigue you may find this a relief. The app also doesn't enforce a trendy square crop on photos; when users view your images, they'll see the aspect ratio you took them in, giving you the flexibility to compose shots as you see fit. However, note that the layouts in-app often use square thumbnails, which can result in some weird cropping. Of course, the app can import pictures from the Camera Roll as well as take them live, so if you'd prefer you can use any app already on your camera to shoot, crop, and post-process images. Image compositing app Diptic seems to be a particularly popular choice.

Platter's approach to tagging us also interesting. Unlike Twitter or Instagram's free-form approach, the ingredient tags are set by the system, and you can't add to them yourself; this promotes a clean hierarchy of tags that isn't littered with duplicates or misspellings. However, so far, the tag names are resolutely Brit speak rather than American orientated; so it's "coriander" and not "cilantro", "aubergine" rather than "eggplant", "courgette" over "zucchini". My Colonial cousins may find this jarring. Update: a full complement of US-style food words have now been added to Platter's ingredient tags.

As for the actual content, the food, I've definitely found Platter to be inspirational. Not only on a "what can I make with this level" but also simply from a presentation point of view. And it's particularly good to know, when looking through pictures, that these are all shot at home in an amateur's kitchen. Looking at professional dishes on Foodspotting inspires me to eat; looking at amateur dishes in Platter inspires me to cook.

Platter is also building a fun community. The developers of the app are all very active on the network, commenting on dishes and running competitions. There's a sub-type of user who delights in naming their dishes with the most groan-inducing puns you can imagine, such as my personal best, "steaks on a p(l)an(e)".

Chatting with Platter

I spoke with Will Hodson, director of Platter, about the future plans for the app.

How did the idea for Platter come about?

"Platter occurred to me as I developed another project with Channel 4's 4iP scheme. They were looking for ideas that could drill down into people's food habits; I thought of something like food Twitter... but didn't want to share it with a media giant!"

What sort of team put Platter together? Is this a full time thing, a sideline gig, or what? How many of you are there, what are your backgrounds, and how long did it take?

"Platter was co-founded by me and four developers. Most of us are fairly recent Cambridge graduates, working in software and programming. I met these guys as a client for another job, was struck by their competence, and we all got on."

How do you feel the launch has gone? Are you finding a good audience?

"Our press coverage is a testament to the appeal of the concept. We've been featured or recommended in all UK broadsheets as well as Evening Standard and Stylist. ABC News in the US recently named us as the number two app for food photos in the world (just behind Instagram).

"Launch has gone well. I wanted to give this a serious food-loving hardcore and we have it. Our featured cooks read like a who's who of British food blogging: we have two of MSN's Most Influential Foodies on board, a Masterchef Finalist and most of London's top bloggers."

Some of the food bloggers Will mentioned include Food Urchin, Gin and Crumpets, Meemalee and Leluu. I forgive him for not mentioning my own sparsely-updated food blog, Objection: Salad!, which has won precisely zero awards from MSN's Most Influential Foodies. It must have slipped his mind.

What are your immediate plans for the app? New features? US localisation? Bugfixes?

"We are in discussions with investors now. There are big plans afoot. First, expanding tags to cover dishes' influences as well as their ingredients. So if my dish inspires you to try something similar, you can tag my influence in your photo. This is almost a new currency of approval in social media. It also means communities can form around cookbooks and suppliers, taking Platter way beyond Instagram into food-specific functionality. Second, we'll open up our website for logged-in use. It will also enable curation of one's favourite dishes. And third, we'll look to put down some roots in the States.

"Finally, we are looking into Instagram integration, via a similar solution to that used by Foodspotting -- users post pictures to their Instragram feed with a special hashtag, and we pick that up and re-post the picture to Platter."

You lead on both iOS and Android at once. That's somewhat unusual. Was that tricky to manage? Did it definitely bring in more users than if you'd led with one platform at a time?

"Android was fine to develop for because our Android guy has been fantastic. Marketing it has been a nightmare however. If you type in Platter on Google Play, it assumes you mean 'Plate'. So it's tricky to find our app. You'd expect better from Google. We're still committed to the Android App but most users are on iPhone."

Anything else you'd like to say to our readers?

"We've got this far with no budget and limited time, yet we've still established Platter as a great place for food photos. As we push out to embrace more home cooks making fantastic dishes around the world, Platter will become the place you go to decide what to eat."

I can't say any more than that, really. One of the privileges of writing for TUAW is being able to help smaller apps find a wider audience. I've really enjoyed Platter in the six or so weeks I've been using it, and I wish it every success for the future.

You can download Platter for iPhone for free from the App Store.

Platter: novel photo-sharing social network for keen cooks originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GameFly wants to get into iOS publishing, create an Android App Store

Mike Schramm — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:00:00 EST

Game rental service GameFly has decided to go all-in on mobile publishing for some reason. The service, which rents out console games in the Netflix style, and runs the Shacknews gaming news outlet, has had a pretty popular GameCenter app out on the App Store for a while now. But now it's getting into the App Store even deeper: A few weeks back, GameFly said it would team up with developers to spotlight "Game of the Day" titles on its app, and now the company is planning to outright publish some iOS games itself.

GameFly is also looking to set up its own Android App Store. Very interesting move by a company that's traditionally been mostly involved with console titles -- clearly, GameFly is reaching out to add a few new tunes to its repertoire. The Android Store is set to be released by the end of the year, while GameFly says we'll see some iOS titles published later on this summer.

GameFly wants to get into iOS publishing, create an Android App Store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 24 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stolen iPhone photos unwittingly posted by Disney cruise ship employee

Mike Schramm — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:30:00 EST

"This is Nelson," says iPhone owner Katy McCaffrey of the picture above, posted on her Facebook. "Nelson has my stolen iPhone." McCaffrey took her iPhone on a Disney Cruise back in April, where the phone was either misplaced or stolen. But it's been found, now. Photo Stream was still running, and pictures from the iPhone have started appearing on it of Nelson and his friends and coworkers on the boat.

Disney has investigated the situation and says the phone has been recovered and will be returned to its owner when the boat that it's on is back in port. The employee in question is on "administrative leave," and his fate will presumably be determined when the current cruise is finished. Disney is doing its best to make things right, but yeah, shame on Nelson for not making sure the phone (which you have to imagine had McCaffrey's info on it, right?) was returned to its owner right away.

[Via NPR]

Stolen iPhone photos unwittingly posted by Disney cruise ship employee originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo! Axis delivers synchronized browsing for iPad and desktop

Michael Rose — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:00 EST

Want your desktop browser pages to show up on your iPhone or iPad, so you can keep on browsing where you left off? There are a few products already offering this feature, including the capable Firefox Home, but Yahoo's mobile product team didn't want to stop with a simple sync engine. They decided to deliver a new search plugin for the desktop, and a new browser for the mobile space: Yahoo! Axis.

Billed as "a new way to search and browse," Axis aims to give your searches more flexibility and flair with predictive results, swipe-to-view search thumbnails, and the aforementioned synchronized recent pages. The overall result is pretty easy to use, if not exactly pretty-pretty -- the theme is very dark gray, compared to Safari's lighter look.

Axis includes sharing options for Pinterest and Twitter, plus emailing URLs. Logging into the iOS browser and installing the desktop plugin (for Safari, Firefox or Chrome on the Mac, and those plus IE on Windows) enables the synchronized open tabs & recent searches features. Bookmarks in the app also sync across, making it easier to track your favorite sites on the go.

Axis has still got a few rough edges, especially on the desktop plugins. The Chrome plugin I tested had some issues with page content and didn't seem particularly happy with YouTube playback. Still, Yahoo is definitely putting some energy (technical and promotional) behind this offering -- it's not bad now, and it's going to get better.

For a quick demo of the product, Yahoo has thoughtfully posted the video below. (Link via The Next Web)

And here's the rather silly TV ad for the iPad version of Axis. Watch out for that caber, laddie!

Yahoo! Axis delivers synchronized browsing for iPad and desktop originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two new carrier Siri ads feature John Malkovich

Michael Rose — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:25:00 EST

It's a pity that they don't feature a doorway that lets you crawl inside his brain, but the ever-fascinating John Malkovich is the star of two new "Celebrity Siri" ads. Previous ads have featured Zooey Deschanel and Samuel L. Jackson chatting with Apple's iPhone 4S-based digital assistant.

The two ads, "Life" and "Joke," are embedded below via Apple's official YouTube channel. Enjoy!

Thanks to Sean for the heads-up.

Two new carrier Siri ads feature John Malkovich originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 22:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Aunt TUAW: How do I post a website on Dropbox?

Erica Sadun — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:00:00 EST

Dear Aunt TUAW,

I read Uncle Steve's write-up about posting an iWeb site to a Dropbox folder.

It's a great blog post and neat trick! But it's using the Public folder... Is there a way to use a non-public folder to do the same?

Your loving nephew,

Seb

Dear Seb,

Auntie is fond of Kissr.co, not just because of its name, of course, but because it makes setting up a website on Dropbox super easy.

Just register for a name, and use Uncle Steve's save-from-iWeb secret techniques, and boom, you'll have a full website running from your Dropbox in no-time. If you want a custom domain, Kissr offers those for a small charge.

If you're more interested in wikis than blogs, take a look at WikiPack. It's a markdown-powered Wiki service that also serves from Dropbox. (And Uncle Brett consulted on the project!)

Auntie has tried both services (albeit, just poking around, no serious testing) and both seem to offer practical, portable, usable solutions.

Hugs,

Auntie T.

Dear Aunt TUAW: How do I post a website on Dropbox? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW TV Live: The 1980's episode

Steven Sande — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:55:00 EST

Note to viewers: By "The 1980's episode" I mean that I'll be doing a retrospective look at some ancient Mac magazines with you looking over my virtual shoulder. I will not be wearing my corduroy suit and disco platform shoes.

Yep, it's time to pop into the time machine and take a trip back to the days of John Sculley, expensive storage, and no Internet. Trust me, you'll be shocked at just how primitive things were just 22 to 27 years ago. The only good thing about the 80's? I had a lot of hair back then.

Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. You can also choose to watch the show on Justin.tv if you wish, by visiting our portal at http://justin.tv/tuawtvlive. In either case, you'll be watching the show in glorious HD!

If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, 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 App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating 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 TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

TUAW TV Live: The 1980's episode originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seagate to acquire LaCie

Mel Martin — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:15:00 EST

Storage giant Seagate has announced intentions to buy controlling interest in LaCie, a boutique hard drive and storage company.

Seagate has offered to purchase from Philippe Spruch, LaCie's chairman and CEO, and his affiliate, all of their shares, representing 64.5% of the outstanding shares of LaCie. Following receipt of governmental approvals and the close of this transaction, Seagate would commence an all-cash simplified tender offer to acquire the remaining outstanding shares in accordance with the General Regulation of the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). Seagate will acquire LaCie for US $186 million.

LaCie drives have been known for their physical design. At times, LaCie has contracted out to companies like Porsche Design for enclosures. Seagate products have been a bit more establishment, and it looks like Seagate wants to have some impact in upscale consumer devices.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in the United States (antitrust filing), France (approval of foreign investments by the Ministry of Finance) and other jurisdictions (antitrust filing in Germany) and to other customary closing conditions.

LaCie has been popular among Mac users, and its drives and accessories are currently sold in Apple Stores worldwide. Late last year, LaCie began selling the first Thunderbolt drives for Macs priced under $1000.

Seagate to acquire LaCie originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iBook Lessons: Book samples and rookie mistakes

Erica Sadun — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

iBook Lessons is a continuing series about ebook writing and publishing.

Talk about rookie mistakes! We finally discovered the reason the iPad-only iBooks Author version of our Mountain Lion ebook got stuck on its way to release: we hadn't submitted a custom sample along with the full ebook.

Every iBooks Author submission requires a sample book for paid book accounts: "[A] custom created sample...is required for all Multi-Touch books offered for sale in the iBookstore" For further details, Apple has a support article about publishing requirements here.

So we went ahead and created our sample. To do this, you duplicate your book to a new project and then delete all non-sample content.

Removing chapters is easy: select them, click delete. It's a little more complicated for in-sample chapter-text. You must edit the actual content. Make sure you delete the text and images you want gone, and then trim away any remaining pages.

It took us a number of tries to get this right because we thought we could delete pages directly by selecting them and clicking delete. You can't. Pages only represent layout, not content, and our undeleted content kept popping back at us until we figured this bit out.

Once the project was trimmed down to size, we saved it and exported it to an .ibooks author file. We then bundled the full and sample versions up through iTunes Producer and re-submitted to iTunes connect.

The multi-touch book went live in the store instantly upon uploading the sample version.

One of the reasons this process went as quickly as it did is that Apple has apparently been conducting its own internal audits, finding books that have been submitted to the iBookstore but that haven't gone live yet.

Support requests like ours trigger a list of issues that need addressing. We now wish that we had contacted Apple sooner, rather than falling into the "we have no control or say in this process" mindset. Of course, Apple could have simply sent a robo-email telling us that the iBook needed a sample rather than making us wait two weeks to find our mistake.

Deciding what to include in our sample led a bit of debate. We weren't sure whether to include an entire section (which we weren't sure would work out of context) or bits and pieces from all over the book. In the end, we settled on distributing our preface, which includes overviews of each of our chapters and our intro-video, which welcomes readers and explains the purpose of the book. For a larger book, we think we might have gone with a full sample chapter instead.

We couldn't find much online discussions about choosing material to include in a sample. (We're used to Amazon and iBooks deciding that for us from our EPUB.) To this end, here's what we felt would be relevant to creating sample content:

It should reflect the writing style of the authors, to give readers a sense of the flow and pace of the text, and answer the question "Does this author's voice match the way I want to read?"
It should reflect the contents, showing readers some of the scope that the book covers, "Am I interested in this material? Does it have compelling utility?"
If the book has a particular flow, for example lessons, it should showcase that style, "Can I follow along the way this book is teaching me based on this sample?"

Beyond those few thoughts, however, our immediate push was to get a sample created and submitted. I'm sure if we had spent a little more time and effort, we could have expanded these ideas further; maybe if we ever get around to writing "iBook Lessons" as a standalone book, we'll flesh this out.

For now, we got past a hurdle we weren't aware even existed, and learned an important lesson about being proactive with support requests. Hopefully our rookie mistake will save you some wasted time and effort.

Do you have thoughts about creating ebook samples to share? Or examples of your own rookie mistakes? Drop a comment and let us know.

iBook Lessons: Book samples and rookie mistakes originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Laser VR: Projector + computer vision + laser pointer = fun!

Erica Sadun — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:00:00 EST

On paper, Laser VR sounds like one of the worst product ideas ever: you need to buy an iPhone, a laser pointer, and a Pico projector just to get started, but darn if we here at TUAW aren't drooling over the prospect.

An iPhone provides both the graphics generation piece, which is piped through a cable to a small projection system (low end projection systems now start around US$125), and the computer vision system that aligns itself to the projected image and interprets the laser pointer position for gaming.

As the following proof-of-concept video shows, while niche, the prospect of gaming on your wall could be super-cool.

Laser VR: Projector + computer vision + laser pointer = fun! originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Store rendering shows another glass box in California

Kelly Hodgkins — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:30:00 EST

Anyone who has visited the Stanford Shopping Center cant miss the black sheeting that covers Apple's upcoming retail store, says a Palo Alto Online report. The new store will occupy two vacant storefronts and eventually will replace a mini-store that's located nearby. Residents can see the breadth of the construction, but the design and layout of the store are a closely guarded secret.

The biggest source of information is the recently-discovered final building plans, which were submitted to the City of Palo Alto earlier this year. These plans contain a detailed rendering that shows a stunning building with exterior glass walls and a center stone wall that separates the building into two distinct spaces. Construction will continue until the store's expected November opening.

[Via ifoAppleStore]

Apple Store rendering shows another glass box in California originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jony Ive's knighting ceremony

Kelly Hodgkins — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:00:00 EST

Apple designer Jony Ive was knighted today in a ceremony held at Buckingham Palace, according to a BBC News UK report. It's an honor he said was "absolutely thrilling."

Ive's knighthood was announced late last year and the ceremony took place on Wednesday. The famed Apple designer shared some small talk with Princess Anne, who was doing the knighting. You can watch the short ceremony on the BBC's website.

Jony Ive's knighting ceremony originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT: Tripping down memory lane

Steven Sande — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:30:00 EST

I've been using Apple products for longer than many of our readers have been alive. Back in the "old days" before the Internet, it was commonplace to get our Mac news once a month in the form of a magazine. During a recent attempt at de-cluttering my basement, I found a pristine stack of old Macworld and MacUser magazines that I found fascinating.

On today's show, I'll be taking you through some of the articles and ads in these magazines that date from 1985 through 1990. It's not only fun to see how expensive some things were back then (tiny hard drives for US$1000), but the ads are a blast as well.

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 any other favorite podcatching app. The past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.

The chat is on IRC: join us on server chat1.ustream.tv, chat room #tuaw-tv.

TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT: Tripping down memory lane originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meet Heckerty, well-known British children's story, makes its way to the iPad

Kelly Hodgkins — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:00:00 EST

Meet Heckerty is a delightful British children's story starring Heckerty, a "zany, 409-year-old, upside-down-on-her-broomstick, green-faced witch," and her sidekick cat Zanzibar. The traditional story has made its way to the iPad with a wonderful adaptation that takes advantage of the interactivity offered by Apple's tablet device.

Children can choose to read the book themselves or have the voice of Jan Ziff read the story to them. Each page is filled with at least one tappable element that'll jump, move or make a noise when your child touches it. The storytelling is outstanding and the story is the perfect length for the younger set who can only sit still for a short period of time. My children loved the iPad storybook, and there's little doubt that Meet Heckerty sets a high standard for other children's books to follow.

We got a chance to speak to Jan Ziff and Allan Davidson, the husband and wife team that brought the Heckerty series to the iPad. We asked them about their experience in adapting the popular children's story to the iPad and their future plans for the series. You can read the interview below. You can also find out more about Heckerty on her website. The Meet Heckerty app is available from iTunes for 99-cents. At that price, it's a must-have for parents with young children.

Q: One the first things I noticed about the book is its excellent storytelling. Can you tell me a little bit more about the Heckerty story and the storyteller behind the app?

A: The Heckerty stories do have a "secret sauce" - it's the great British oral storytelling tradition that goes all the way back to The Canterbury Tales through Alice in Wonderland to Beatrix Potter and Winnie the Pooh, and recently to Harry Potter. Ann Rachlin created the Heckerty stories and refined them for many years in her renowned Fun With Music classes in London.

Jan really was the original Fun With Music student, along with her two siblings, and often served as a test audience for ideas that were later integrated into Fun With Music, and became part of Ann's many records and books for 2-9 year-olds.

That's where Jan learned to combine words with the rhythms of music, which you may not always hear but is definitely part of the what creates Heckerty's magic. And Ann's wonderful storytelling skills made all the difference as we developed and recorded the stories for this series.

But to your question - it was in late in 2010 that Ann asked us whether we thought Heckerty could be brought to life on an iPad or iPhone. We loved the idea, did some research, thought about it and decided to do it.

It's been a fascinating ride with all kinds of unexpected turns and plot twists but Heckerty's now out the door and everybody that's seen the app so far has loved it, something we've all found tremendously rewarding!

Q: Did you use iBooks Author to develop the book? If so, can you summarize your experience with the tool? If not, how did you bring the book from printed pages to digital format?

A: No, we didn't use iBooks Author for several reasons - first, it wasn't available when we launched, second, even though iOS was the dominant and most creative platform, it was clear that there would be other competing operating systems and that we'd need to serve them. That's how we ended up using Flash for this project.

And Flash turned out to have been a great decision - it let us go straight from the original text and Ann's storytelling to the "living" graphics and child-friendly form factor that distinguish the iPhone and iPad and other mobile devices. We could really bring out the rich interactivity and audio that these devices are so perfectly suited to.

From a production and technical perspective, we had to shorten and tweak them so that they'd work well, then let Colin and Dave, our extraordinary programmer and animator team do their magic with the images, design and the audio we had developed -- the collaboration turned into Meet Heckerty and additional stories that are already in production.

Q: As someone who now has experience with both traditional and digital media, what do you think of the iPad? Will it replace or complement printed books?

A: We think the iPad is arguably the most exciting development in the history of personal computing. From its form factor, the screen resolution and the superb audio in the latest version, the iPad is changing the way stories can be told and the way they are told.

Will the iPad and similar devices completely replace the printed book? We don't think so but it will continue to rapidly take over many of the functions that many print products like books, magazines and newspapers have traditionally provided. And the reason is simple, we think - where the iPad offers a substantially better experience, people will naturally gravitate to it, and over time, the capabilities of the iPad will both grow rapidly and the cost will drop dramatically.

There will always be people who want a book, who enjoy the smell and the heft of a book, and love to see rows of spines on shelves. And then there are the voracious readers who could never take 12 printed books on vacation with them, but who can easily take an iPad - each sees different benefits in the book experience, each for different reasons.

We also believe that the iPad is changing the way stories are told. And that rather than replacing or even complimenting printed books, the iPad and similar devices will have material written and produced for them, bringing the best of the story and leveraging the strength of the device to better tell that story .... that's what we've tried to do with Heckerty.

Q: What was your biggest challenge in producing the iPad version of the Heckerty story? Did you have to modify the storyline (make it longer or shorter, for example) to accommodate the digital reading experience?

A: We shortened and tightened the story to suit the iPad and how kids use the devices - the most pleasant surprise was how well-suited the Heckerty stories turned out to be for the iPad and iPhone - the biggest challenge on from a story perspective was letting the story's strengths come through and let the iPad make each one a unique experience.

Q: Do you have plans to bring additional titles to the iPad?

A: Absolutely!! Several stories are already in production - the next one to appear will be "Heckerty Cook" (that's the working title). Let's say that Heckerty's cooking skills and menus leave a lot to be desired ... and her cousins decide to fix the problem. Until you see the story, we'll leave the ingredients of the story to your imagination, but we can tell you that we still break down laughing every time we come to some of the scenes as we work on them!

Hopefully, you and your audience will have time to talk about Heckerty again once Heckerty Cook ships!

Meet Heckerty, well-known British children's story, makes its way to the iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily iPhone App: Elenints matches Triple Town's planning with a few new tricks

Mike Schramm — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:30:00 EST

Red Fly Studio is the group behind last year's great Inertia: Escape Velocity. Its latest title, Elenints, is more abstract. The name "Elenints" might come from a combination of the words "elements" and "integers". It's is a puzzle game where you place pieces on a board, trying to match up three of a kind and combine those into increasingly complex elements.

The gameplay is similar to Triple Town, which I love. Both games require you to carefully plan how you'll place pieces to make combos. But while Triple Town simply blocks off space the more you play, Elenints is more dynamic. As "creepers" spawn, you can block them with an Elenint, which means that if you can change up your plan in time, you can prevent bears from ever showing up.

That innovation alone makes Elenints worth a look, and there's also a sort of tutorial/puzzle mode that offers a nice twist on Triple Town's gameplay. Elenints is available for free on the App Store right now.

Daily iPhone App: Elenints matches Triple Town's planning with a few new tricks originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google search app for iPhone, iPad re-designed

Victor Agreda, Jr. — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:15:00 EST

For some reason I hadn't quite relegated the Google Search app on my iPhone to a folder, where most apps go to die. But it should have. The old Google Search app was atrocious -- a seemingly willful expenditure of effort on something so terrible it would serve to dissuade people from using it (or iOS) altogether. The new Google app is 100% better.

On the iPhone, I'm noticing more UI niceties, and the "app" gets out of your way as much as possible. The previous version was full of irritating usability quirks. Once Siri came along, I all but forgot it existed.

Google Goggles, however, and the picture searches possible, are great (though not new). The iPad app is really quite pleasing to use, and having all the Google apps in one handy interface is also very welcome.

It's free, so try it out and see if Google's updated Search app is your cup of tea.

Google search app for iPhone, iPad re-designed originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 23 May 2012 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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