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Hope You Enjoy the Smell of Napalm in the Morning [New Window]
This lengthy New York Times story on the escalating rivalry between Apple and Google hit while I was at SXSW; I didn’t have time to do much more than point out the curious choice to describe Apple employees as Steve Jobs’s “underlings”. (Perhaps “minions” is next.)My quick impression of the story based on the first few paragraphs was that there wasn’t much meat to it, that it was the sort of “conflict makes for a good story so let’s play up any bit of conflict we can find” report that we often see. But the story actually has some interesting details that were news to me. For example: Apple nearly bought AdMob, but Google snatched them away with a higher offer. And, regarding Bill Campbell, who is co-chairman of Apple’s board and a long-time advisor at Google: While Mr. Campbell has tried to be a diplomat and smooth over the problems between Mr. Jobs and Mr. Schmidt, the task hasnt been easy. Mr. Campbell declined to comment for this article, but people briefed on the matter say that throughout last fall, Mr. Jobs and Mr. Schmidt each lobbied Mr. Campbell to sever his connection with the others company, at times even giving him ultimatums to do so. Finally, Mr. Campbell was forced to choose, and according to a person with knowledge of the situation, he dropped his formal responsibilities at Google, although he is still informally mentoring executives there.Regarding meetings between Apple and Google executives during Android’s gestational period: Many of those meetings turned confrontational, according to people familiar with the discussions, with Mr. Jobs often accusing Google of stealing iPhone features. Google executives said that Androids features were based on longstanding ideas already circulating in the industry and that some Android prototypes predated the iPhone. At one particularly heated meeting in 2008 on Googles campus, Mr. Jobs angrily told Google executives that if they deployed a version of multitouch the popular iPhone feature that allows users to control their devices with flicks of their fingers he would sue. Two people briefed on the meeting described it as fierce and heated.And lastly: Inside both Apple and Google, employees say, the sense of rivalry is intense and a peacemaker is sorely needed. Ive never seen anything quite like it in my life, one Apple employee says. Im in so many meetings where so many potshots are taken. It feels weird.That last bit, regarding a general belief that Apple is gearing up for war against Google, echoes what I’ve heard lately from several sources who work at Apple. I know that conflict between companies — particularly big companies, and even more particularly big interesting companies like Apple and Google — tends to get played up in the press, often to the point of sensationalism, because conflict is interesting. But I’ve got the growing sense that there’s nothing sensational about it. I think Steve Jobs genuinely sees Google as threatening Apple’s core business. It doesn’t really matter whether he’s right (although the more I consider it, the more I think he is). Jobs believes it, and so Apple is going to war.Hence the patent suit against HTC. That’s all about Google — about creating a situation where Android is no longer a free operating system for handset makers in the U.S., because the cost of using it is an expensive legal defense against Apple.Then there are the little things. Last week, for example, Apple hired R.J. Pittman, Google’s director of product management. Apple and Google are big companies with a lot of directors and managers; I very seldom find personnel moves to be newsworthy. But, as Jason Kincaid pointed out: Wed previously heard that Google and Apple had a gentlemens agreement not to poach each others employees. Obviously, thats no longer the case.I.e. it’s not particularly interesting that Apple hired Pittman, or that Google lost him, but it is interesting that Apple poached a director from Google, period. That didn’t use to happen.The whole Google-Voice-iPhone-app-rejected-from-the-App-Store thing? The easiest explanation I see now is that Apple declined it out of competitive spite with Google. Apple doesn’t want Google’s “phone stuff” on the iPhone.Google, clearly, knows what it’s getting into. This story from The Times on Wednesday reports that Google, working with Intel and Sony, is also working on a competitor to Apple TV (and thus the iTunes Store for video). The unofficial partnership Apple and Google forged a decade ago grew during a period when the two companies were focused on very different markets. Now, their sights for the coming decade are on the same markets: mobile computing devices and entertainment. Post-PC computing, if you will.Further, I suspect that the time for peacemaking is over. The cold war has ended and the shooting war has begun. One can argue about whether the seal was broken by Google with the Nexus One or by Apple with the HTC patent lawsuit, but at this point, it’s on.Apple faces more decisions than Google in such a war, because Apple has products that use Google services; Google doesn’t have products that use Apple services. Those rumors that Safari and/or MobileSafari might switch to Bing as the default search engine? I give more credence to them now. The problems for Apple there are that (a) Microsoft is every bit as hell-bent as Google to take on the iPhone; and (b) Bing, improved though it may be, is not as good a search engine as Google.I can’t see Apple building its own search engine, but perhaps they really are building their own maps service — hence their purchase of PlaceBase last July.Perhaps the “war” analogy is stretched. But the situation has gotten past the usual level of competitive vigor. Patent lawsuits are not usual. Poaching employees is not usual. Forcing a mutual advisor like Bill Campbell to choose sides is not usual. Jobs’s widely reported remarks at a company-wide address last month (“Make no mistake, Google wants to kill the iPhone”) are not usual. Eric Schmidt’s dismissal of the iPad as “a large phone” is not usual.I’m not sure what to expect next, other than for things to get uglier. Microsoft pulls Bing app from non-U.S. App Stores [New Window]
Microsoft said the search engine app was 'inadvertently made it available to all countries' and has pulled them in favor of localized apps coming in the future.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:30:00 -0400 Nokia: Design by Community [New Window]
This is not a joke. I think. Airtel says it will bring iPhone 3GS to India [New Window]
Seven months after Apples self-imposed deadline flew by, Bharti Airtel finally announces that the iPhone 3GS is "coming soon" to India.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:14:00 -0400 Apple Invites Developers to Submit iPad Applications to App Store [New Window]
Submissions in by March 27 “will be considered for” the grand opening of the iPad App Store. Seems a little nutty that the vast majority of them have been tested (by developers) only using the simulator. Why Stephen OGrady Is Against Software Patents [New Window]
A comprehensive look at just how broken the system is. (Via Tim Bray.)Update: Fireballed at the moment. Here’s a text-only version from Google’s cache. Apple sets March 27 deadline for first iPad apps [New Window]
In an e-mail to iPhone developers, Apple says it will begin reviewing iPad applications on March 27 for inclusion in the "grand opening of the iPad App Store."
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:36:00 -0400 Forbes: Palms Stock Plummets After Analysts Cut Targets to $0 [New Window]
The message seems to be that Palm is in serious trouble — not just merely “struggling”, but in dire straits.I don’t really understand why. Their WebOS phones are, to my eyes, the best competitors to the iPhone. People who own them seem to like them. Their marketing hasn’t been great, but it’s been better than Android’s. But Android is taking off and WebOS isn’t, and, trite though it sounds, Palm really has bet the company on WebOS. H&FJ: Four Techniques for Combining Fonts [New Window]
Bookmark this now. Raiding Eternity [New Window]
Outstanding, poetic writing at Gizmodo by Joel Johnson. Chris Holt Reviews Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [New Window]
Chris Holt: Its huge in scale and depthsomething iPhone players arent used to. If many games play like thin leaflets, consider Chinatown Wars your copy of War and Peace. Minus the Peace. Apple files mobile social networking patent request [New Window]
A patent request shows Apple may be developing a mobile social networking application for the iPhone.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:55:00 -0400 Slideshow: iPad cases and bags galore [New Window]
Curious about the options out there for protecting your new iPad? Here's a look at some of the bags and cases on the way.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:45:00 -0400 Need an iPad case? Take your pick [New Window]
You pre-ordered your iPad, but how are you going to protect it when you're out and about? Vendors galore have announced and previewed all manner of iPad cases, and we've rounded them up for you.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:45:00 -0400 Zooom gives you better window control [New Window]
Zooom is a capable substitute for one of my favorite all-time Gems, MondoMouse, letting you more-easily move and resize windows. It even offers a few unique features of its own.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:36:00 -0400 Review: Pocket Informant for iPhone [New Window]
This $10 productivity tool is a beast of an app -- and we mean that as a positive. Dense and feature-rich, Pocket Informant aims to replace the iPhone's built-in calendar and serve as a task/to-do list manager, too.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:30:00 -0400 Etude offers sheet music, piano instruction [New Window]
Wonder Warp Software on Wednesday released Etude, a musical teaching tool for those just learning piano or wanting to expand their repertoire.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:27:00 -0400 Dissecting iTunes Links [New Window]
Detailed analysis of iTunes URLs, from Bjango. Report: Google eyes departure from China on April 10 [New Window]
A report in the China Business News says that Google will announce on Monday that it plans to pull its business out of China on April 10.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:13:00 -0400 Flash In The Brainpan: Demolition Dude [New Window]
Hey, you know what this week needs? Some smashing. C'mon, it's Friday, you're stuck at work, you're missing all the TOTALLY INCREDIBLE basketball games, don't you deserve some stress relief? Of course you do. And so, today, Demolition Dude is that stress relief.  You're a guy who wants to smash things with his head. You've invested in a slingshot that can propel you into the buildings. Nice and simple. Nice and simple.  Oh, sure, every now and then you'll have a challenge. Like a building that's impossible to destroy or a wall that you could, but aren't supposed to destroy. But this is your dream, Demolition Dude! Your dream! You sacrificed so much to get to this point! Surely you can find a way to succeed.Thanks to Jayisgames for introducing us to this one. 
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:00:00 -0400 Bugs & Fixes: Ringtones won't play in iTunes [New Window]
A bug in iTunes 9.0.3 affects your ability to play ringtones from iTunes on your Mac. Ted Landau has the details.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:43:00 -0400 The Agency Model [New Window]
Macmillan CEO John Sargent: Starting at the end of March, we will move from the retail model of selling e-books (publishers sell to retailers, who then sell to readers at a price that the retailer determines) to the agency model (publishers set the price, and retailers take a commission on the sale to readers). We will make this change with all our e-book retailers simultaneously. Inside the Collapse [New Window]
Compelling 60 Minutes interview with author Michael Lewis, on the Wall Street financial collapse. Windows Phone 7 mirrors iPhone missing features [New Window]
As more details emerge regarding the upcoming Windows Phone 7 series, it seems to be defined more by the features and functions it lacks.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:53:00 -0400 Move Memos from a Palm device into the iPhone's Notes app [New Window]
I have spent weeks looking for a way to move 340 memos on my old Palm Treo to my new iPhone. I found many solutions that involved uploading to a website, and then downloading to the iPhone, but I didn't like the security risk involved. I also found a lot of agonized pleas for easy solutions that were not answered, from people waiting to upgrade from their old Palm to a new iPhone.I eventually found a solution using the combination of Missing Sync for Palm OS and PhoneView. This method is free, as you can use demo versions of both programs, but I recommend buying both -- or at least the PhoneView software, as it has a bunch of uses down the road.Install both programs, then run Mark/Space Notebook, which is included with Missing Sync for Palm OS. Notebook will automatically download all of your Palm Memos into Mark/Space Notebook.Mar...
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Set Dock auto-hide state via AppleScript [New Window]
There are dozens of hints that programatically toggle the Dock's auto-hide state. Some suggest modifying com.apple.Dock, then killing the dock. Others rely on sending keystrokes to merely toggle the dock state. Neither of these give the user elegant control over the state of the dock. So, I've written a small snippet of AppleScript combining these ideas, giving absolute control over the Dock's hiding state without killing the dock or modifying the plist. This is suitable for use in any situation where you want to allow the user to control the Dock's visibility state in your AppleScript code:set weWantToHideTheDock to trueset currentDockHiddenState to (do shell script "defaults read com.apple.Dock autohide")if (currentDockHiddenState is equal to "0") and (weWantToHideTheDock) then tell ap...
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Run Firefox in a protected sandbox [New Window]
OS X has a built-in sandbox feature for applications, which can restrict their access to certain parts of the system. There isn't a lot of documentation available on the sandboxing system, but I've successfully been able to sandbox Firefox. It has some limitations, but my plug-ins and add-ons work though yours may not.If you have issues, you'll have to search for the directories where your plug-ins are housed, and give read or read/write access permissions in the firefox-sandbox file. There is only write permission to the ~/Downloads directory, so if you want to save files in a different location, you will have to change the firefox-sandbox file or move them after the download has finished.First, create the following file and save it somewhere as firefox-sandbox: ...
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Create stop-motion animation [New Window]
With a Mac, camera, software, and inexpensive materials, you can easily create animated videos.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:15:00 -0400 BugMe brings sticky notes to your home screen [New Window]
Electric Pockets BugMe allows you to jot down on stick notes with your fingers and have them displayed on the home screen.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:15:00 -0400 Fake MacBook Air, 'big iPhone' tablet on show in China [New Window]
A Chinese gadget maker showed off a knock-off MacBook Air running Windows and a tablet computer shaped exactly like an iPhone with a 10-inch screen.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:20:00 -0400 Din's Curse Demo Released [New Window]
March 19, 2010 6:00 AMSoldak Entertainment has announced the release of a demo version of Din's Curse, the upcoming action RPG. In Din's Curse players take the role of an adventurer cursed to walk the lands in a quest for redemption. The game features 141 possible class combinations, an infinite number of dynamically generated towns, and a game world directly impacted by player choices.Din, champion of the gods, has cursed you into a second life of service because you selfishly squandered your first one while causing misfortune to those around you. To redeem yourself, you must impress Din by building a reputation for helping others. Travel the spacious western plains of Aleria and save desperate towns from the brink of annihilation. Until you're redeemed, you're doomed to wander the earth alone for all eternity. In Din's Curse, you will explore an extensive underground, slaying dangerous monsters, solving dynamic quests, dodging deadly traps, and in your spare time, plundering loot. Quell uprisings, flush out traitors, kill assassins, cure plagues, purge curses, end wars, and complete other dangerous quests or the danger WILL escalate. Not all is as it seems though, traitors will gladly stab you in the back, renegades can revolt against the town, spies can set up ambushes, and items might even curse or possess your friends. Choose one of 141 class combinations and journey to an infinite number of dynamically generated towns with vastly different problems. Every game is a surprise! Your actions have real consequences in this dynamic, evolving world. Your choices actually matter! Open the door to Din's Curse. Surprising adventures await!Features:Uniquely created worlds for every game, with different monsters, items, quests, and even townspeople, give the player a new experience every timeExplore a dynamic, evolving, living worldMany hybrid classes to experience - 6 full classes, 18 specialties, 141 total combinationsYour choices truly impact the gameSurprising, emergent gameplayCo-op multiplayer to adventure with friends (only in full game)The demo for Din's Curse demo is approximately 100MB. For more information click over to the link below.Din's Curse DemoSoldak EntertainmentDin's Curse
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:00:00 -0400 Review: TuneUp Media TuneUp [New Window]
TuneUp can help fix with missing and mislabeled metadata in your iTunes tracks, but it won't find everything.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:00:00 -0400 Review: Grand Theft Auto for iPhone [New Window]
Rockstar Games doesn't do anything half-way, and the first iPhone version of its Grand Theft Auto series is no exception. The game for the iPhone and iPod touch is a big, ugly, raw title that's huge in scale and depth.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:41:00 -0400 Review: Sony A230 SLR camera [New Window]
If you're on a budget, the A230 is one of the most affordable SLR kits around.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:30:00 -0400 Palm CEO: We could have been bigger than Droid [New Window]
Palm released disappointing third-quarter results and said that inventories are piling up for operators.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:45:00 -0400 Review: Brother HL-3070CW color printer [New Window]
The Brother HL-3070CW color LED printer gives small offices color printing on the cheap and it has Wi-Fi, too.
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:14:00 -0400 Kodak Theater HD Player [New Window]
Codec MomentsOK, roommates: its becoming clear were going to have to lay down some ground rules for using the Kodak Theatre HD Player.With seven of us in this apartment, its becoming less a way to view videos and pictures on the big TV, and more a constant source of bitter acrimony. This is the kind of multimedia convenience that can tear a household apart. Before lifelong friends turn into blood enemies, I thought Id lay down some rules.First, if you want to use the Kodak Theatre HD Player, youll have to reserve it on the sign-up sheet in the kitchen. Specify the date and time youd like to use it. No, Keith, forever plus infinity is not a valid date and time.If you also want to use the pointer remote, youll have to reserve that separately on the sign-up sheet in the back hallway. Why? Because sometimes Lindsay likes to dress the remote up in little outfits and take it for walks. I know, I know, but were not here to judge each others lifestyle preferences. Not even those of us who call a remote control Sniggums and give it Eskimo kisses.Whoever got blood, mucus, and tartar sauce all over the HDMI cable should have it professionally cleaned or replace it immediately. I know where you can get an HDMI cable cheap. Talk to me later if you want to keep it discreet.Ryan, just because you can use the Kodak Theatre HD Player to stream that Korean poop song from YouTube over and over doesnt mean you necessarily should. Moderation in all things, dude.OK, so, moving on Im not naming any names, but if you want to watch videos of an adult nature, please restrict your viewing to the hours between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., when Rachel is at work. It can create a hostile living environment. Plus, I really dont want to know what turns you people on. Im not trying to embarrass anybody, but some of you freaks are into some really disgusting stuff. So lets keep it discreet, OK, Chris and Victor?And on a similar note, if youre using the players Discovery Collage feature to search for pictures on the house computer, please make sure to exclude the folders hot_celebs and Euro_upskirts, especially if my parents are in town.Finally, if youre using the Kodak Theatre HD Player to do something lame like getting up-to-date news headlines from the National Public Radio RSS feed, and one of the other roommates has just downloaded both the 2006 Aquaman pilot and the 1979 JLA celebrity roast, you are expected to relinquish control of the Kodak Theatre HD Player. Using an HD TV to read an RSS feed would be like using the Cosmic Cube to heat up a frozen burrito.Well, thats about it. As in ancient Mesopotamia, I hope the rule of law can settle our tribal disputes and bring order to a fractious land. And if not, you should all know that Ive mastered the Cherokee blowgun. Watch something with the Kodak Theatre HD Player during my reserved time, and itll be the last video you ever watch. Or slideshow, or whatever.Authorized for SquareTrade Extended Warranty$(document).ready(function() {st_widget.create({itemCondition:'New',itemDescription:'Kodak Theater HD Player',itemPrice:'49.99',bannerStyle:'wide',widgetType:'quote',merchantID:'subscrip_014793207843'}); });Warranty: 1 Year KodakFeatures: View pictures and videos stored on your PC in brilliant detail on your HDTV, wirelessly Listen to music stored on your computer or choose from thousands of free Internet radio stations, HD podcasts, and on-demand web channelsincluding news, weather, and sports updatesall on your home audio system See new pictures and video instantly by inserting a memory card or USB storage device, or by plugging in your KODAK EASYSHARE Digital Camera Easily create slideshows enhanced with your favorite songs and transition effects Connect to popular photo sharing sites such as KODAK Gallery and FLICKR Access hundreds of the latest free on-demand video feeds on the webcategories include news, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, comedy, family, and nature Add videos to your queue and mark favorites Browse feeds by newest, latest by category, most popular, or the entire selection Unique pointer remote makes it easy to navigate on-screen with a simple wave of your hand Breakthrough user interface designed specifically for an HDTV Slim design (6 in. 8 in. 1 in.) makes for a natural fit in virtually any home entertainment centerYouTube Features: YouTube designed specifically for viewing on an HDTV All of your YouTube functions are served up in a big, new waysearch videos by keyword, author, most popular, featured, top rated, and related Onscreen keyboard with auto-complete feature helps you find content fast KODAK Imaging Science enhances your experience Log into your account to view subscriptions, save favorites, and give ratingsDiscovery Collage features: Todays Collage starts with todays date, then looks at least two weeks ahead to gather a collection of pictures relevant to that time of year, like holidays, birthdays, and special family events Random Collage searches for pictures on your PC to give you a random view of your entire collection Select any picture to see more from that dateCafe Features: Your personalized home page includes date, time, and weather information based on ZIP code Get up-to-date RSS headline news through NPR Watch the latest news videos from a number of online providers Relive forgotten pictures automaticallyKodaks Picture Chronicles feature plays a slideshow of pictures taken around the same time of the yearAdditional Photos: Kodak Theater HD Player Kodak Theater HD Player Front USB Port, CF, and SD/MMC/xD/MS Card Readers Kodak Theater HD Player Rear Ports Kodak Theater HD Player Wireless Remote Control Kodak Theater HD Player BoxOutput: Resolution: HD resolutions up to 1080pPorts: HDMI 1.2 Audio/Video (HDMI cable not included, check out deals.woot to get one) Component video (Y Pr Pb; High Definition support) Analog RCA stereo audio Digital audio S/PDIF (coaxial/optical)Interfaces: Multi-card reader: SD, MMC, CF, MS, xD, SDHC, USB (2) USB 2.0 ports (mass storage, digital still camera)Network: Wi-Fi standards: 802.11 b/g/n Wired: 10/100 Base-T Ethernet, RJ-45 Security: WEP 64/128, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSKVideo: Files: xvid, avi, mov, mpg, asf, m4v, mp4 Codecs: H.264, MJPG, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMV-9, WMV-9 Advance Profile Resolution: QVGA up to 1920 1080p @ 30 fpsAudio: Files: mp3, mp3 vbr, aac, wav, wma, m4b, m4v, mp4v, m4a Codecs: LPCM, MPEG-1 Layers /3, LC-AAC, WMA-9 Standard, WMA-9 Pro Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass throughPhoto: JPEG (baseline, progressive) TIFF PNG KDCInternet radio: H.264/AVC Streaming MP3 WMAPlaylists: Apple iTunes StoryShare M3UEnvironment: Operating temperature: 32 to 104 F (0 to 40 C) Storage temperature: -25 to 160 F (-31 to 71 C)Power: External power supply: 100240 V AC, 50/60 Hz input Power supply output: 12 V DC @ 2.5 A Power consumption: 30 W maxPhysical specifications: Dimensions: 6 8 1.1 in. (152 203 28 mm) Weight: 1 lb (452 g)In the box: KODAK Theatre HD Player KODAK Theatre Pointer Remote Control, batteries included KODAK EASYSHARE Digital Display Software Power supply Component AV cables User guide Quick start guideDiscuss this productPrice: $49.99I want one!
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:00:08 -0400 Paul Thurrotts Curiously Shifting Thoughts on Copy-and-Paste [New Window]
Delightful catch by Chris Grande. Here’s Paul Thurrott in July 2007, regarding the iPhone: And whats up with the lack of cut/copy and paste? This is a basic OS feature that Apple included in the first Mac OS almost 25 years ago. Its inexplicably missing from the iPhone, unavailable in any application or the wider system itself. Unreal.And here’s Paul Thurrott two days ago, in a post titled “I Love Windows Phone”: The multitasking is limited. Users will only be able to get apps from the Marketplace, and not from third parties. Gasp! Is it true that there’s no copy and paste? No matter. Windows Phone combines those very few things that were right about Windows Mobile — primarily some business functionality — with a much wider set of new functionality that is exciting in both scope and possibility.Unreal, indeed. Amazon Playing Hardball With Book Publishers Over Kindle Pricing [New Window]
Quoting a report in the subscriber-only Publishers Marketplace: At least one independent publisher of scale was told categorically by Amazon in a recent phone call initiated by the etailer that Amazon would not negotiate agency selling terms with any other publishers outside of the five initial Apple partners. This publisher was told that if they switched to an agency model for ebooks, Amazon would stop selling their entire list, in print and digital form. In conversation, Amazon is said to have reiterated that as matter of policy they are declining to negotiate an agency model with any publisher outside of the five who have already announced agreements with Apples iBookstore.“Agency model” is apparently industry jargon for publishers setting their own prices per title, rather than accepting a flat selling price set by Amazon.I’ll echo Paul Constant’s question in response to this tactic: So my question is this: How long is Amazon going to dick around publishers before customers start to think of their inventory as unreliable? Web Sites That Demand Money for iPhone App Reviews [New Window]
Brian X. Chen: The two sites that were most frequently mentioned by programmers who contacted Wired.com were TheiPhoneAppReview.com and AppCraver.com. Both sites appear in the top four Google search results for the search term iPhone app review. AT&T happy to play it cool with LTE [New Window]
AT&&T isn't sweating the fact that rival Verizon will be the first U.S. carrier to offer 4G LTE services.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:50:00 -0400 Mozilla, Video, and Mobile Computing [New Window]
With Microsoft’s announcement this week that IE9 will support H.264 HTML5 video, three of the big four browsers — IE, Safari, and Chrome — will soon support H.264. The only major browser holdout is Firefox.1Mozilla is couching their position in terms of ideals: H.264 is an open industry standard but patent-encumbered and has licensing fees; Ogg Theora is open, not patent-encumbered, and free of licensing fees.Brian Crescimanno has written a fine argument that this is a situation where pragmatism should win out over idealism, and that Mozilla should include support for H.264 (in addition to Ogg Theora) in Firefox. As he points out, it’s not as though Mozilla has never before supported proprietary formats (e.g. GIF). But Crescimanno’s best point is that Mozilla’s support for Ogg Theora is doomed because it’s technically inferior to H.264: People and businesses are willing to embrace free software when it provides an equal or better product than the proprietary alternatives (see the success of Linux on the server). However, when free software doesn’t keep up with the best non-free products, people stay away (see the lack of success of Linux on the desktop). Simply put, there just aren’t that many people who share the same moral imperative as the Free Software Foundation; most of them just want it to work.Put another way, “open and better” is a recipe for success; “open but worse” is a recipe for obscurity. Popular video publishing sites aren’t going to use Ogg Theora instead of H.264, and I think they’re very unlikely to support it in addition to H.264, either. Encoding and storage are expensive; supporting both would at least double those costs.The practical effect of Mozilla’s current position will not be to drive adoption of Ogg Theora. What’s going to happen is that Safari, Chrome, and even IE9 users will be served HTML5 video, and Firefox users will get Flash. Publishers will support both HTML5 video (for Safari, Chrome, and IE9 users) alongside Flash (for browsers that don’t support HTML5 and H.264) because they already have the Flash video publishing infrastructure in place, and because Flash can be used to publish H.264-encoded video. Publishers don’t have to encode (and store) video twice; they can encode (and store) it once and serve it two different ways. The sites that are the most popular — YouTube being number one, obviously — would bear the most expense to support an additional encoding format. It isn’t going to happen.So, even those using the latest version of Firefox will be treated like they’re using a legacy browser. Mozilla’s intransigence in the name of “openness” will result in Firefox users being served video using the closed Flash Player plugin, and behind the scenes the video is likely to be encoded using H.264 anyway.There’s another factor that occurred to me recently: mobile computing. Apple, Google, and Microsoft all seem to view mobile computing as a top-level priority. H.264 video playback on mobile devices is aided by dedicated H.264 decoding hardware. That’s how the iPhone and iPods get such long battery life for video playback. I believe this is also true for Android devices, and will be true for Windows Phone 7 and Zunes. Relying on the CPU for video playback simply isn’t practical on mobile devices. There are no hardware decoding chips for Ogg Theora. If you want to send video to mobile devices, H.264 is the only practical encoding for the near future. (I think this explains why Microsoft is throwing its support behind H.264 rather than some proprietary video codec of its own — Microsoft knows a winning position when it sees one.) Ogg Theora may well be “good enough” for desktop computers, but it’s completely unacceptable for mobile devices.Mozilla, as an organization, doesn’t seem to value mobile computing as a top priority. Yes, they have mobile initiatives. But the only platform they have a mobile browser for is Nokia Maemo. All of you using a Nokia Maemo, please raise your hands. Crickets. Compare and contrast with WebKit, which I suspect will soon have more mobile than desktop users.The needs of mobile computing are driving the adoption of H.264 HTML5 video more than anything else, but Mozilla doesn’t feel that pressure because it isn’t a mobile company. And at this point, “not a mobile company” is getting hard to distinguish from “not a relevant company”.2Opera is on Mozilla’s side, supporting Ogg Theora instead of H.264, but Opera isn’t a major browser in my book. Feel free to include it in your book, though. ↩Opera, on the other hand, is a major player in the mobile market. I think it’s safe to say that Opera is far more relevant in mobile computing than on the desktop. So it strikes me as odd that they aren’t on board with H.264. Perhaps (unlike Mozilla) they truly can’t afford the licensing fees. ↩ Wikipedia Uses Ogg [New Window]
Wikipedia’s media format policy: The preferred formats are JPEG for photographic images, SVG for drawings and line-art illustration, PNG for non-vector graphic iconic images, Ogg Vorbis for sound and Ogg Theora for video.So, there’s one major site that uses Ogg. But, I can’t say I recall ever watching video from Wikipedia, so while they’re clearly a major web site, I’m not sure it’s fair to call them a major video publisher. Logic Pro, Express updated to 9.1.1 [New Window]
Logic Pro and Logic Express have been updated to version 9.1.1, smoothing over some issues caused by the transition to 64-bit and adding 64-bit native support to Express.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:17:00 -0400 Review: Max and the Magic Marker [New Window]
Max and the Magic Marker is an enjoyable and clever platformer that will most likely keep kids engaged for hours, allowing them to color inside, outside, and all around the lines.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:47:00 -0400 YouTube accuses Viacom of uploading infringing content [New Window]
As Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit against Google's YouTube marches on, YouTube's chief of counsel accuses Viacom of covertly uploading infringing content to YouTube for its own benefit.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:24:00 -0400 Review: V1 Golf for iPhone [New Window]
Avid golfers will appreciate V1 Golf, which helps you analyze your swing with the help of the iPhone's built-in camera.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:20:00 -0400 Canon pulls EOS 5D Mark II firmware update [New Window]
Canon has pulled the new EOS 5D Mark II 2.0.3 firmware update, just days after its initial release.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:10:00 -0400 The case for the 3G-capable iPad [New Window]
The 3G-enabled version of the iPad costs only $130 more than the Wi-Fi-only version. Jason Snell thinks the upgrade is worth serious consideration.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:58:00 -0400 Storing Your Yojimbo Library on Dropbox [New Window]
In my piece on backups earlier this week, I mentioned that I wasn’t storing my Yojimbo library on Dropbox. A bunch of Yojimbo users emailed me to tell me you can do it, and you can even use it for syncing a shared Yojimbo library between multiple Macs — if you’re careful never to run Yojimbo from more than a single Mac at a time. I don’t like having to be careful, so, personally, I wouldn’t use Dropbox with Yojimbo for syncing — but it’s worth noting that Yojimbo attempts to detect this situation, where you’ve left it running on machine A and launched it on machine B, and warns you accordingly.However, in my case, I only ever access Yojimbo from one machine. I want to use Dropbox to store my database for off-site storage and backup. And, indeed, it seems to work just fine. You move your ~/Library/Application Support/Yojimbo/ folder inside your Dropbox folder, then create a symlink in ~/Library/Application Support/ pointing to the new location. (You have to use a symlink; an alias won’t work.) Analysis: Twitter's @anywhere could usher in big improvements [New Window]
The new @anywhere service could have a significant impact on solidifying Twitter's position as the de facto medium for real-time updates online as well as paving the way for the company's much-awaited advertising platform.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:40:00 -0400 Washing Machine 2 scrubs browser leftovers [New Window]
You don't want to know what potentially compromising information your browser leaves behindand now, thanks for Washing Machine, you won't need to.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:35:00 -0400 HP settles cases with inkjet cartridge vendors [New Window]
HP settles with inkjet vendors for selling products that allegedly violated patents.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:00 -0400 Access alternate Time Machine drives [New Window]
Although it's not obvious how, Time Machine makes it easy to access and browse other drives containing Time Machine backups.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:08:00 -0400 Google Alleges That Viacom Secretly Uploaded Its Content to YouTube, Even While Publicly Complaining About Its Presence There [New Window]
Zahavah Levine, chief counsel for YouTube in its litigation with Viacom: For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there. It hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately “roughed up” the videos to make them look stolen or leaked. It opened YouTube accounts using phony email addresses. It even sent employees to Kinko’s to upload clips from computers that couldn’t be traced to Viacom. […] Viacom’s efforts to disguise its promotional use of YouTube worked so well that even its own employees could not keep track of everything it was posting or leaving up on the site. As a result, on countless occasions Viacom demanded the removal of clips that it had uploaded to YouTube, only to return later to sheepishly ask for their reinstatement. In fact, some of the very clips that Viacom is suing us over were actually uploaded by Viacom itself.Astounding hypocrisy. Kindle for Mac [New Window]
Nice to be able to read Kindle e-books on another class of machine, but this is a very un-Mac-like Mac app. Look at these dialog boxes here and here, for example. The icon is, to my eyes, the exact same as the iPhone Kindle app. The name of the app is “Kindle for Mac”, rather than just “Kindle”.The reading experience isn’t too bad, but the type rendering is smudgy (it’s certainly not using Mac OS X’s built-in type rendering) and you can’t select text. Even worse: you can’t search. You’d be better off with scanned images of the print versions of books, because at least then you’d get high quality typesetting. In short, this is better than no Mac Kindle client at all, but it feels very junky. If Apple comes out with a Mac iBooks client, it’s going to blow this away. No Dashes or Spaces Hall of Shame [New Window]
Calling out sites that force you to enter, say, credit card numbers, in a precise format, even though removing things like spaces and dashes is programmatically trivial. (Via Sarah Harrison.) Dial Zero [New Window]
Free iPhone app (also available for Android and BlackBerry) that, like the aforelinked web site, offers a database of instructions for getting a human customer service representative from a list of over 600 companies. Color and video coming to Kindle? Partner shows new screens [New Window]
Color e-reader screens that can imitate video playback were on show Thursday from Taiwan's Prime View International, which makes the Kindle for Amazon.com.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:44:00 -0400 Review: March Madness on Demand for iPhone [New Window]
This app, which streams video and audio from the NCAA men's basketball tournament to your iPhone, has made some improvements from last year's edition -- most notably, the ability to stream live video over a 3G connection.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:28:00 -0400 An Ode to DiskWarrior, SuperDuper, and Dropbox [New Window]
Three weeks ago the hard drive in my MacBook Pro went bad. So far as I can tell, I didn’t lose a single byte of data. Here’s how.First, what happened. I was on vacation for a few days with my wife immediately after Macworld Expo. Thursday 18 February was my first day back at home for a normal day of work. When I woke the machine up from sleep, everything was terribly slow. Closing windows. Opening new windows. Switching between apps. These things were all taking 30 seconds or longer. (I’d last used the machine on the airplane on my way home the night before. I noticed nothing wrong then.)This was bad news, of course. So I saved everything that was open and rebooted. I gave it some time but the login screen didn’t appear.So, I forced the machine to shut down and rebooted from my Snow Leopard installation disc. I ran Disk Utility and attempted to verify the MacBook Pro’s internal hard disk. Disk Utility reported that the disk was damaged in a way that it could not repair. This is extremely bad news.I rebooted from an external hard drive, which was a clone of my internal hard drive made using SuperDuper. From this, I ran DiskWarrior against my internal drive. It took a long time (three or four hours, perhaps), but DiskWarrior was able to create a new directory for my internal startup drive and mount it as a read-only volume. It looked like everything was in order, and it contained everything up to the point where I started seeing problems.I then used SuperDuper to make a complete clone of this volume — the read-only volume reconstructed by DiskWarrior — to another external hard drive.In many cases, DiskWarrior is able to replace a damaged volume’s problematic directory with the new repaired directory that it creates. In my case three weeks ago, however, DiskWarrior reported that it could not. It reported: DiskWarrior has successfully built a new directory for the disk named “Jiminy.” The new directory cannot replace the original directory because of a disk malfunction. A disk malfunction is a failure of or damage to any mechanical component of the disk device, or any component connected to it. The malfunction will likely worsen. Therefore, recovering your files from the DiskWarrior Preview as quickly as possible is essential.So at this point I had:The MacBook Pro’s internal hard drive, which Disk Utility stated could not be repaired, and which DiskWarrior stated was likely permanently damaged at the hardware level.An external hard drive which contained a SuperDuper cloned version of the entire contents of my internal drive. Normally, the contents of this backup drive are one day old, because I run SuperDuper every night. However, in this case, the contents were over 10 days old, because I had been away from home — Macworld Expo followed immediately by a vacation.A second external hard drive, which contained a fresh SuperDuper clone of the read-only version of my internal drive that DiskWarrior was able to restore.#3, the second external drive, in theory should have at this point contained everything up until the moment I noticed the problems. But, having made this copy from a volume with serious underlying hardware problems, I considered it deeply suspect.The best case: I’d reboot from volume #3, verify that everything seemed OK, and lose nothing.The worst case: some or all data on volume #3 would prove to be corrupt, and I’d lose about 10 days of work, including my Keynote slides, notes, and research for my presentation at Macworld.But even that didn’t concern me, because I use Dropbox. That’s where I save all files I’m working on. My Keynote project was there. My OmniOutliner document containing the written version of my presentation was there. I wouldn’t lose email, either, because all my email accounts are IMAP, so they’re all backed on servers. The only truly important thing I could think of I might lose would be the last 10 days of data in my Yojimbo library (which, as a database rather than a collection of small files, doesn’t play well with Dropbox and therefore isn’t stored there). Needless to say, though, I tend not to create many Yojimbo items while on vacation. [Update, 18 March 2010: Ends up you can safely store your Yojimbo library on Dropbox].I was lucky: volume #3, cloned from the directory recreated by DiskWarrior, was just fine. Thanks to DiskWarrior, I lost nothing. Thanks to Dropbox and SuperDuper, though, the whole process was stress-free, because I didn’t have much to lose even if DiskWarrior had not been able to salvage a non-corrupt image of the failed drive.I’m sure the most commonly-used backup/recovery software for Mac users is Time Machine. I think the addition of Time Machine to Mac OS X is one of the best things Apple has ever done. It has saved data that would otherwise have been lost. And it’s great because you don’t have to invoke it manually, you just set it up and from the point forward it does its thing automatically. And, unlike SuperDuper, which only provides you with a snapshot clone of a drive, Time Machine provides a historical archive of each modification to every file.However, I find terrific value in SuperDuper’s model. SuperDuper creates a bootable clone of your startup drive. With Time Machine, if your startup drive goes kaput, you’ve got to go through a lengthy restore process (and, in the case of hardware failure on the kaput drive, you need an extra bootable volume to restore to). With SuperDuper, you just plug in the clone, reboot, and you’re back up.Here are the things I would like to impress upon you:Hard drives are fragile. Read as much as you can bear to about how they work, how incredibly precisely they must operate in order to cram so many bits onto such small disks. It’s a miracle to me that they work at all. Every hard drive in the world will eventually fail. Assume that yours are all on the cusp of failure at all times. It’s good to be spooked about how long your hard drives will last.Buy a bunch of large external hard drives for use as backup volumes. It’s not enough to have one. If I only had one, I wouldn’t have been able to clone the volume DiskWarrior restored for me without taking a terrible chance and overwriting the known-good 10-day-old SuperDuper clone. It is no fun at all to spend money on hard drives whose only purpose is to be used in case one of your regular drives fails. But when you need them, it feels like the best money you’ve ever spent.Seriously, buy a few external drives, not just one. Buy another one to store off-site in case your home is burgled or there’s a fire or other catastrophe. Don’t use backup drives for any other purpose.Use SuperDuper to clone your startup volume (or volumes, plural, if you have several volumes used for primary daily storage). Run it every day. Use it even if you also use Time Machine. You will thank me when a drive fails and a few minutes later you’re right back where you were the night before. There are other apps that serve a similar purpose. I haven’t tried them in years because SuperDuper has never let me down.Test your backups. Try booting from them once in a while just make sure they work.Use Dropbox. In addition to the fact that Dropbox is fast and reliable at copying files saved locally to Dropbox’s remote servers, Dropbox also remembers each version of each file you save. Dropbox provides syncing, remote storage, and simple versioning backup all at once. You can trust it. All you do is save your files like you normally do. And unlike all my other recommendations here, you can use Dropbox for free. I suspect the only people who aren’t using Dropbox are those who haven’t tried it.My strategy for disk repair software: try Apple’s Disk Utility first, then, if it doesn’t fix everything, DiskWarrior. If DiskWarrior fails assume the drive is toast. If you don’t own DiskWarrior, buy it immediately. It has worked wonders for me many times over the past decade, and has never once made a problem worse. There are other disk utility apps. I haven’t used them, and consider myself so well served by Disk Utility and DiskWarrior that I see no reason to try.1The best disk repair utility comparison I’ve ever seen, by far, is David Shayer’s in TidBITS back in 2003. (See also his follow-up to include TechTool Pro.) His conclusion: try Disk Utility first, and if it fails, try DiskWarrior. Seven years later I believe this advice stands. ↩ Sebastiaan de Withs New Interarchy Icons [New Window]
Looking good. Apple Homepage Tribute to Jerry York [New Window]
Nice gesture. Vinyl Lives, With An Assist From Cardboard [New Window]
One obstacle in the way of the vinyl LP resurgence is the lack of record players in American homes these days. Vancouver ad agency Grey Canada has a novel solution: turn the record sleeve into a record player.Of course, there's no motor, so you have to turn the record by hand or with a pencil. And there are no speakers: the vibrations are amplified by the cardboard. So I assume the sonic fidelity won't exactly meet audiophile standards. But if you've always wanted a record player you could fit in your Trapper Keeper, here it is.(As seen at Gizmodo.) 
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:30:00 -0400 Apple Director Jerry York Dies at 71 [New Window]
Apple: Jerry joined Apples Board in 1997 when most doubted the companys future. He has been a pillar of financial and business expertise and insight on our Board for over a dozen years, said Steve Jobs, Apples CEO. Its been a privilege to know and work with Jerry, and Im going to miss him a lot.He was reportedly hospitalized for a stroke yesterday. Apple board member York passes away [New Window]
Apple confirmed the death of Jerome York, a member of the company's board of directors since 1997. York suffered a brain aneurysm this week.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:10:00 -0400 Pay $9 to look at Final Fantasy XIII on your iPhone [New Window]
If you like looking at pictures of Final Fantasy, Square Enix has released its Final Fantasy XIII Larger-than-Life Gallery of screen shots from the game.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:32:00 -0400 Review: Valet Hustle for iPhone [New Window]
Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to bewait for ita valet? Well, thanks to Valet Hustle, you can finally live that dream. Test your parking skills and peed in this $1 Diner-Dash-esque app by Factory Games.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:31:00 -0400 In Defense of Deficits [New Window]
James K. Galbraith, writing in The Nation: And this, in the simplest terms, explains the deficit phobia of Wall Street, the corporate media and the right-wing economists. Bankers don’t like budget deficits because they compete with bank loans as a source of growth.(Via Aaron Swartz.) Chat Roulette [New Window]
A movie by Casey Neistat. MoviePeg [New Window]
Clever iPhone stand, perfect for propping up an iPhone to watch video. Got one at SXSW (black, of course) from Brendan Dawes of MagneticNorth; it has a great feel to it. (Currently shipping from the U.K., so you might want to order a couple for friends if you’re shipping to the U.S. to make it worthwhile.) GetHuman [New Window]
How to get a real human on the phone from big companies. (Via Craig Mod.) CapSee 1.2 [New Window]
Free Mac utility that pops up an on-screen notification bezel when you invoke Caps Lock. Dave Pells Head Is in the Cloud [New Window]
Dave Pell: Before heading to the emergency room, I climbed into the back of the ambulance where I asked her if she wanted me to call her boyfriend. She said she did, but she didnt know his telephone number. It was lost along with her now obliterated cell phone, and she had never committed the number to memory. FTC member rips into Google's privacy efforts [New Window]
A member of the U.S. FTC calls on Internet companies to better protect consumer privacy.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0400 Report: Google TV may come to your living room [New Window]
Google is working with Intel, Sony and others on Google TV, a service aimed at putting the Internet in living rooms, The New York Times says.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0400 Hackers offered $100,000 for browser and phone exploits [New Window]
Security company 3Com TippingPoint has jacked the prize money on offer to anyone able to hack a range of browsers and mobile devices at the forthcoming CanSecWest security conference.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:50:00 -0400 China Mobile wants iPad, Chinese 3G for iPhone [New Window]
China Mobile hopes to offer both Apple's iPad and a version of the iPhone that supports China's homegrown 3G standard, comments by its chairman showed.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:40:00 -0400 Use a third-party APC UPS management tool for more control [New Window]
My APC UPS beeps whenever the power fails. If this happens at night, the beep is loud enough to wake people. The beep can be disabled by software in Windows, but not in the Mac version of PowerChute Personal Edition. The Mac version provides features that Mac OS X already provides: shutdown timers for any UPS connected via USB. I stumbled across the open source Unix app Apcupsd which gives me all the features I want from the Windows version of PowerChute: beep settings, battery change dates, and so forth. Furthermore, it can send email notifications for significant events. As someone who runs an old G4 as a home server, this is very nice to know. After downloading and installing Apcupsd is installed, run this command from Terminal: sudo /sbin/apctest. This will display a simple text-based menu, and it's self-explanatory. If you get an error message that reads Cannot find UPS device..., it could be because: ...
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 10.6: Avoid a DHCP issue with Dual Band Airport Extreme [New Window]
While playing with Snow Leopard Server's various services, I noticed DHCP wasn't working. Actually, it worked at first for my laptop, then it stopped. Then I noticed the iPhones were not able to receive IPs either. I thought it was something with my server, so I drew a network diagram, and it gave me an idea.I have an Internet modem connected to a Netgear router, to which the AirPort Extreme (Dual Band) is connected. My Snow Leopard Server machine is connected via the AirPort, as are all other clients. My drawing showed that when my Server was connected on the 5Ghz side, and the DHCP clients were connected on the 2.4Ghz side, DHCP would not work.I confirmed this by splitting the dual band and connecting server and all clients on the 2.4GHz channel only. Set up this way, DHCP worked great; problem solved! I'm not sure if that makes perfect ...
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Use Terminal to open Screen Sharing connections [New Window]
The open command in Terminal will, when given a vnc://1.2.3.4 (or vnc://hostname) protocol argument, open the Screen Sharing app and connect to IP address 1.2.3.4 (or hostname).[robg adds: I was certain we'd covered this tip somewhere before, but all I can find is a brief mention in this comment to this hint about dict:// URLs.]
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Hello brings mobile messaging to iPhones [New Window]
Hello is a brand new messaging app that seeks to overtake SMS in favor of a more robust, accessible IM experience.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:25:00 -0400 HTC responds to Apple, 'disagrees' with legal action [New Window]
Taiwan-based HTC responded on Wednesday to Apple's patent infringement suit, saying that it disagreed with the actions taken and will defend itself fully.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:25:00 -0400 Ngmoco to release six iPad games near tablet's launch [New Window]
Ngmoco expects to have around a half-dozen games ready for the iPad when Apple launches its tablet next month.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:19:00 -0400 Review: Hipstamatic for iPhone [New Window]
The layout, design, and attention to detail in this camera app are among the best you'll find on the App Store. Not only does Hipstamatic produce great-looking photos -- it's also engaging and fun to use before you ever see the finished product.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:46:00 -0400 AT&T Zero phone charger won't draw power by itself [New Window]
AT&T's Zero phone charger, coming in May, will only draw power when the phone is plugged into it.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -0400 Review: Lexmark Platinum Pro905 multifunction printer [New Window]
The Lexmark Platinum Pro905 color inkjet multifunction printer is a well-equipped, competent small-office multifuntion printer.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:30:00 -0400 Amazon brings Kindle app to the Mac [New Window]
A beta version of Kindle for the Mac from Amazon lets you read Kindle e-books on your computer.
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:16:00 -0400 WowWee Rovio [New Window]
Couldnt Be Worse Than Transformers 2Today were going to share some robot love. Our robot love. Yeah. Ro-vee-oh-vee-oh.Before we get started, take note. Pop yourself an extra browser tab for Hackaday.com and what? You want to know why in the world wed send you to go hang out with those losers? OMG youre SO mean! The reason were sending you over there is that the nice dudes at Hack A Day have buddied-up with us today, and theyre gonna be showcasing a very special breakdown of the WowWee Rovio WiFi Robot, highlighting a few things you might be able to do with it if youre so inclined. These guys break stuff for a living, so surely theyll be able to teach you a few things about our happy robot buddy.Thats right, we said happy robot buddy. Because the WowWee Rovio WiFi Robot isnt just a simple mobile webcam. But even if it was, wouldnt that be enough? After all, youre not the sitting type, are you? No, not you. You want to get up and move. You want to be free. You want to strut like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. You want to go down that hallway and get another Mountain Dew Throwback from the kitchen, and you dont care if all the corn syrup executives in the entire world see you doing it! Thats why this WowWee Rovio WiFi Robot is perfect for you.Because the Rovio is a Wi-Fi enabled mobile webcam that also just happens to be a K-9 lookin robot. And what do robots do best? Thats right, they tag along with you on your trip to the kitchen! Even better, the Rovio is a robot that you can control, so you could just stay in bed and let it drive to the kitchen for you. Since the WowWee Rovio WiFi Robot is built to work from a web browser, youll be able to use it with your PC or Mac, or maybe even your iPhone. Theres a built-in LED headlight to help out with filming in the dark. Plus the rechargeable NiHM battery is designed with a low-resistance, high-quality polarized Deans Connector, just like the kind radio control enthusiasts prefer. This is a robot thats made to move!You know what else is made to move? You are. Didnt we cover this in the first paragraph? Are you even paying attention today? Wake up! Then head over to deals.woot and take a look at the very special software deal were running on RoboRealm. RoboRealm is designed to work on your laptop or desktop PC, and its gonna be a nice little bonus to have a robot you can reprogram under Hackaday.coms guidance. Serious hobbyists take note!Look, the future is coming, no matter how hard we all try and stop it. At some point, a robot is going to win at Cannes. Do you want that honor to go to a Terminator built by Michael Bay? Or do you want it to go to an hour long Dogme 95 movie made by a plucky little robot with a dream? Think of the WowWee Rovio WiFi Robot as a first year film student without the arrogance. This is your chance to shape the future of film.Or maybe youll just let the Justin.tv people watch you scaring the cat. Theres merit in that as well.Authorized for SquareTrade Extended Warranty$(document).ready(function() {st_widget.create({itemCondition:'New',itemDescription:'WowWee Rovio',itemPrice:'99.99',bannerStyle:'wide',widgetType:'quote',merchantID:'subscrip_014793207843'}); }); Warranty: 90 Day Woot Limited Warranty Features: Wi-Fi enabled mobile webcam that lets you view and interact with its environment through streaming video and audio Easily control Rovio remotely 24/7 from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Use any web-enabled device: PC or Mac, cell phone, smartphone, PDA or even your video game console Detects your computer settings and guides you through the setup process Head-mounted moveable camera and wide range of vision enable you to see and hear exactly what Rovio sees and hears, on your screen Set waypoints so that Rovio can navigate itself around your home, without having to control each step yourself At the click of a button, send Rovio back to the charging dock using its self-docking capabilities even when you are not at home Guide Rovio through dimly lit locations with the aid of its built-in LED headlight Rovio Set-up tutorials Rovio Demo VideoSpecifications: Rechargeable NiMH battery included (with Deans Connector) 1 x Charging dock with built-in TrueTrack Beacon 3 x Omni-directional wheels 1 x Head-mounted VGA camera LED illumination 1 x Speaker and 1 x microphone for 2-way audio USB connectivity Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11b and 802.11g)Additional Photos: Rovio on Charging Base Rovio Camera Position 1 Rovio Camera Position 2 Rovio Camera Position 3 Power Button and USB Port Rovio Deans Connector Rovio BoxIn the box: WowWee Rovio Charging Dock USB Cable Power AdapterDiscuss this product
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:00:07 -0400 Google developer takes on Apple [New Window]
Tim Bray, formerly of Sun Microsystems and now a developer-advocate for Google's Android efforts, slammed Apple and the iPhone in his blog this week.
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:25:00 -0400 MacUpdate bundle offers Parallels, other apps for $50 [New Window]
Bundles abound in the Mac world these days. Here's one that brings together ten applications--including Parallels 5--for a very attractive price.
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:10:00 -0400 Another Backup Lecture [New Window]
Great tip from Merlin Mann on off-site rotation: Peg your off-site rotation to a date-certain (like how you probably changed the 9-volt in your smoke alarm for Daylight Savings Time yesterday). I do my rotations within the first five days of each new month. So, yes, do automate the creation of backups, but then also do the physical rotation like youd pay your mortgage. On time and without fail.If there’s a weakness in my own system, it’s that I don’t do this often enough. I like the idea of doing it on the first of the month. The Movie Studios Big 3D Scam [New Window]
Excellent critique from Alexander Murphy (pseudonymous Hollywood visual effects supervisor) explaining what’s wrong about all the recent 3D live action films other than Avatar — they were made “3D” in post-production rather than being shot in true 3D with dual cameras. I didn’t even like Up in 3D, which wasn’t live action. The one and only 3D theatrical film I’ve ever seen where the 3D made the experience better rather than worse was Avatar. (Some of the 3D attractions at Disney World are good, too.) Microsoft Promises HTML5 Video Support in IE9 [New Window]
HTML5 marches ever forward: The presence of MP3 and AAC audio support in the browser preview, and the promise of MPEG-4 and H.264 video support in the final version of IE9, raise the question of what role Flash and Silverlight, which are commonly used to handle these functions, will play in IE9. Hachamovitch did not comment on this, but pointed out that with IE9’s video, audio and SVG capabilities, “you have an HTML 5 browser that does audio and video without plugins”.No canvas support in IE9, though. (Yet?) And, if you’re keeping score on codec support in major browsers, IE joins Safari and Chrome in supporting H.264 for video; Firefox, Opera, and Chrome support Ogg Theora.I wonder whether Adobe expected Microsoft to support HTML5 video in IE9. Windows Phone 7 to Ship Without Copy and Paste [New Window]
Chris Ziegler: Microsoft just mentioned in a Q&A session here at MIX10 in no uncertain terms that clipboard operations won’t be supported on Windows Phone 7 Series.Catching up is hard. And based on what I’m hearing about iPhone OS 4.0, it seems likely that Windows Phone 7 is going to fall further behind before it even gets a chance to ship. Review: Melatonin for iPhone [New Window]
This alarm clock app looks to help you wake up gradually, and it's driven by a number of good ideas. Unfortunately, Melatonin's promising features don't outweigh its hassles.
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:44:00 -0400 iLounge: Apple Removes Protective Screen Film From Its Retail and Online Stores [New Window]
iLounge: In communications with vendors that have been ongoing for some time now, according to one company, Apple has said that it will removeboth film-only solutions from its stores, as well as any case or other accessory that includes film protection as part of its package, such as cases that include film screen protectors.Odd.Update: Here’s an interesting comment on the iLounge piece: I’m an Apple Retail employee who has applied roughly a million of these films. A couple months ago, it became our policy not to help apply them, because theyre so difficult to get perfect and it became a liability issue (Theres a speck of dust, give me a new one free.). Unless youre in a vacuum, theres a chance of picking up dust between opening the package and putting the film down.Thinking about this some more, I think it’s about avoiding the suggestion that you should use such a film/protector thing. I.e. that if Apple is selling them, some number of iPhone/iPod buyers assume they ought to buy one. Whereas I think the iPhone is very much designed to be used as-is — no case, no film. The 3GS oleophobic-coated screen feels just perfect. Respectfully Yours, Clint Eastwood [New Window]
Speaking of Clint Eastwood, Letters of Note has a letter he wrote to Billy Wilder in 1954. The Movies of Clint Eastwood [New Window]
Fascinating New Yorker essay by David Denby on the career of Clint Eastwood. Evening Walk [New Window]
Speaking of The New Yorker, this week’s issue sports another cover painting by Jorge Colombo, made on his iPhone using Brushes. I wonder whether this will be the last one he makes on an iPhone rather than an iPad. I Just Wanted To Say Good Luck We're All Counting On You: Woot Weads The Wire [New Window]
Every week in this space, well take a look at the news and offer our own incisive blend of commentary, analysis, and poop jokes. The news you need, from a voice you can trust, in the 90 seconds you have to spare: thats Woot Weads the Wire.PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. (UPI) -- Peter Graves, the star of TV's "Mission Impossible" and the movie spoof "Airplane!" died of a heart attack in California, his business manager said.He will be remembered as the rich man's Leslie Nielsen.IRON RIDGE, Wis. (UPI) -- Carol Jensen, a Wisconsin artist, decided all creatures need a winter pastime, including her horse, so she taught it how to paint.Now the horse is smoking clove cigarettes and preparing for a move to a small studio apartment in Brooklyn.OKLAHOMA CITY (UPI) -- Authorities in Oklahoma said a man who crashed into a parking lot walked into a jail and offered a stick he called the "last tree in the universe" as payment.The man was immediately taken into custody for hunting a Lorax without a license.NEW YORK (UPI) -- A New York plastic surgeon's high score on classic video game "Donkey Kong" has been certified as a world record by the official electronic game scorekeeper.However police have been keeping hom in protective custody since Monday, when the champion awoke to find a broken bottle of hot sauce on his pillow.SOMERTON, Ariz. (UPI) -- Officials in an Arizona town said pictures, a VHS tape and a magazine were retrieved from a time capsule buried in 1985, but a bottle of brandy was missing.Officials are sad because they had once considered what a good wife she would have been, if their life, their love and their lady had not already been the sea.SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (UPI) -- Humans and an ancient group of sea creatures known as hydras share a gene that aids in vision, scientists in California said.Experts say that the gene for growing extra heads has not yet been isolated.DAYTON, Ohio (UPI) -- Police in Ohio said alcohol may have been involved in a "Dukes of Hazzard"-style crash that ended with a truck impaled nose-down on a pair of mailboxes.Waylon Jennings was unavailable for comment before the fade out.
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:00:00 -0400 Articles Wikipedia iPhone App From Sophiestication [New Window]
There are a bunch of dedicated Wikipedia iPhone apps, and there are several I like. But I like Articles, a brand new $3 app by Sophia Teutschler, best. It’s fast, it looks great (including the formatting of articles), and it has a very clever MobileSafari-inspired UI. John Cassidy on the Lehman Report [New Window]
John Cassidy: Until now, my answer to the first question has been that while much of what the bankers did was reprehensible, it was perfectly legal. I still think this is the casein finance, it is often the case that the biggest scandal is what you can get away with within the lawbut the Valukas report raises the possibility that I was wrong, and that the big Wall Street firms were engaged in Enron-style accounting fraud. Create a PDF from an Office document using Google Docs [New Window]
A few days ago, I was using a desktop at home to try to print a .docx document (from Word 2008). Unfortunately, the home machine had a much older version of Office, and it couldn't open the .docx format.As a workaround, I uploaded the .docx document into Google Docs, edited it a little bit, and then clicked Print. This converts the document into a PDF, so all you need to do is save that window to create a local PDF. (This also works if you create a document using Google Docs and click Print.)[robg adds: Another way to do this would be to send the .docx file through Microsoft's Open XML File Format Converter. After conversion, you could then open the document in older versions of Office.]
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 10.6: A workaround for a Boot Camp x64 installation issue [New Window]
Today I installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64 via Boot Camp on my 2007 MacBook Pro 2.4GHz machine. I was stumped when I couldnt install the Boot Camp drivers from the 10.6 DVD in Windows.I tried several different approaches, but every single try ended with the message Boot Camp x64 is unsupported on this computer model when launching the Boot Camp setup app. I could also not install the 3.1 update. The only visual indication was Nvidia drivers installing, and afterwards, it would simply quit while all the time there was no reference that I was actually about to install Boot Camp.Knowing that I didnt do anything wrong, I didnt want to give up and finally found a solution. Here's a step by step guide:Boot into Windows 7 and insert your 10.6 DVDRight-click on Start » Programs » Accessories » Comman...
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Razer Pro Click Mobile Bluetooth Mouse [New Window]
Yeah, they come in other colors besides pinkBut what would you want with those?When it comes time to buy a little pink hairless mouse, youve got two options: Woot, the one-day-one-deal website youve grown to love and trustor your local pet stores freezer.Which one should you choose? It really comes down to whether youre looking for an ergonomic, pocket-sized controller for your notebook computer or a nutritious meal for your pet snake.The Razer Pro Click Mobile Notebook Mouse pictured above will be especially helpful to anyone whos on the move a lot, like for work, and for whom luggage space is at a premium. Those tiny netbook-style computers they make now, its great that those things are so small and lightweight, but who wants to finger that teeny-weeny trackpad for hours? Its like tickling a shrew.No, if youre going to be on your mobile computer for any length of time, youll want a mouse. This Razer Pro Click model gives you precision performance, Bluetooth 2.0 adaptive frequency hopping for uninterrupted connection, and a comfy non-slip chassis. Oh! Somebody ask if it works with a Mac! Go on, ask.YES, it works with either PC or Mac. (As long as the computer in question is Bluetooth-enabled. If yours isnt, consider enabling it. By some crazy who-could-have-predicted-it coincidence, were selling dongles for that purpose today at deals.woot.)Finally, this mouse comes in the colors of your favorite candies. Minus chocolate. Plus licorice.On the downside, your pet snake will not be able to digest it. For that, you need an actual flesh-and-blood mouse from the Animal Kingdom. And we dont have any immediate plans to launch frozenreptilefood.woot any time soon. (Weve heard some snakes can go a pretty long time between feedings, but its probably still best not to wait on us while Reggies getting hungry.)So if you need a little pink mouse to sustain a scaly pet, visit your nearest pet supply emporium. And tell em we sent you! They wont know what youre talking about, but they sell snake food, so theyre used to dealing with weirdos. Warranty: 1 Year RazerFeatures: Uninterrupted Connectivity with Bluetooth 2.0 adaptive frequency hopping, you can be assured of a reliable performance no matter where you are Ergonomic Form Factor enjoy true comfort on the go, with the ergonomic ambidextrous design and sleek non-slip finishing of the Razer Pro Click Mobile No Drivers Required with no need for any driver installation, works with Mac or PC (as long as it's Bluetooth compatible) Ambidextrous design for comfortable fit Long battery life enables continuous usage Dimensions 3.8 Inches Long (9.8cm) 2.2 Inches Wide (5.7cm) 1.4 Inches High (3.8cm) Operates on 2 AA batteries (included) USB dongle sold separately (find one at deals.woot)Additional Photos: Black Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Detail Black Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Black Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Box White Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Detail White Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse White Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Box Red Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Detail Red Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Red Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Box Pink Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Detail Pink Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse Pink Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse BoxIn the box: Razer Pro Click Bluetooth Mouse (Black, White, Red, or Pink your choice) Carrying Pouch 2 AA Batteries Discuss this product
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:00:06 -0400 Canon Announces .canon Top-Level Domain Name [New Window]
I wonder how many other companies are going to do this. The Interarchy Fire Sale [New Window]
Speaking of Nolobe, they’re holding a “fire sale” on their excellent file transfer app Interarchy — through Monday it’s on sale for just $20, including a free upgrade to the upcoming Interarchy 10. And a slew of other indie Mac developers — Flying Meat, Red Sweater, Atebits, Stairways, and The Little App Factory — are participating with a 20 percent discount code (“FIRESALE10”). It's A Soda World After All: A Multicultural Soft-Drink Exploration [New Window]
You can tell we're geeks because we drink way more soda than we should. I've been locked in a death-dance with the fizzy Jezebel for my entire life. My temptress currently wears the mask of Coke Zero - something about its crisp, ascetic cola flavor speaks to my soul. Plus, it's not sticky when you spill it (no sugar, see?).But one nagging concern keeps me from fully enjoying my soda jags: what if there's something out there that's even better? What keeps coders and copywriters awake in Bogota, Bangkok, and Birmingham? There's a whole world of canned, bottled, and, for all I know, bagged beverages that I've never dared to explore. Will I find a new, exotic love to excite my palate and share my mini-fridge? I assembled the St. Louis Woot crew to help find out...Inca Kola Country of Origin: Peru, but now owned by Coca-Cola. Color: radioactive cream. Texture: fizzier than the typical American soda. Flavor: like bubble-gum - specifically, the cheap, dusty slabs of pink gum you used to get with a pack of baseball cards - but much, much sweeter. Notes: somewhere between cream soda and a diabetic coma, Inca Kola's effervescent sugar onslaught has made it the top soft drink in Peru for decades. Maybe it's the altitude. Would we drink it again?: if you're thirsty in Cuzco, you could do a lot worse.Foco Dragon Fruit Juice Drink Country of Origin: Thailand. Color: Cloudy. Texture: Extra-chunky with bonus seeds. Flavor: pear-flavored sno-cone syrup with a splash of passion fruit, or something. Notes: whoa. Look at those chunks of pulp and those black seeds. We're voyaging beyond the known limits of the soft-drink map here. While not technically a soda, we couldn't pass up something with such a cool name. And its mild, fruity flavor really wasn't bad - just, again, so sweet that typing this makes my teeth hurt. Would we drink it again?: a couple of us say we would. But nobody managed to finish their small glass of the stuff. Talk is cheap.Materva Country of Origin: originally Cuba; now bottled in Miami with yerba mate imported from South America. Color: brown like Guinness, complete with a nice frothy head. Texture: slightly thicker and heavier than the soda I'm used to. Flavor: complex, suggesting mostly tea, but with notes of cream soda, Red Bull, bubblegum, apple Jolly Ranchers, and generic grape soda. Notes: served hot, the tea-like yerba mate is even more ubiquitous in Argentina and Uruguay than coffee is in the United States. People of all ages drink it every day, including kids. Yerba mate's stress- relieving, energy-enhancing qualities were just the thing we needed to survive the punishing abuse of tasting all these sodas. Thank you, Materva! Would we drink it again?: yes, the next time we can't make up our minds between iced tea and Coke.Foco Pennywort Drink Country of Origin: Thailand Color: swamp sludge. Texture: suspiciously thick. Flavor: "earthy" would be a nice way to put it, with notes of potatoes, grass clippings, and jalapeo Doritos. Notes: this is what you order at the Thai restaurant when you want to show all your friends what an intrepid bad-ass you are. "What, you've never had pennywort juice? It's all I drink now." Would we drink it again?: we wouldn't drink it with YOUR tongue.DG Kola Champagne Country of Origin: Jamaica. Color: bright gold. Texture: standard for soda. Flavor: started off nice, bubblegummy and creamy in the champagne-soda style. Then a weird chemical quality kicked in, like antifreeze, or like Inca Kola cut with swimming-pool water. The MC Skat Kat-looking character printed on the label seems blurry, but maybe that's just the fumes getting to us. Notes: maybe we just got a bad batch. But just to be safe, use in a well-ventilated area. Would we drink it again?: no, but we might use it to clean our bathroom tile.Colombiana Country of Origin: Colombia. Color: blood orange. Texture: crisp, light, and very carbonated. Flavor: predominantly orange, but with the bubblegum/cream aspect common to all champagne sodas. Mericfully, it's much less sweet than the other examples we tasted. Notes: looks like not everybody in South America has the sweet tooth of a 3-year-old. Would we drink it again?: happily. The consensus second-favorite of the bunch.Vimto Country of Origin: Great Britain Color: a deep, beet-juice-like maroon. Texture: syrupy, low on bubbles. Flavor: Diet Black Cherry Shasta gone flat. Notes: their palates deformed by generations of flavorless sausages, the British choke down this cloying blackcurrant-flavored bilge by the tankerload. It's one more reason to thank Paul Revere. According to Wikipedia, Vimto is "the beverage of choice during Ramadan", the time when Muslims are supposed to deny themselves the pleasures of the earthly world. Good choice. Would we drink it again?: not if King George himself marched his redcoats into our kitchen. Drink good soda or die!Foco Soursop Juice Country of Origin: Thailand. Color: pale pear. Texture: watery and chunky. Flavor: OH GOD THE SMELL! Sewage, overripe fruit, Vienna Sausages, and floral notes collide in a nuclear assault on your olfactory system. Hold your nose and you might manage to choke down a surprisingly tolerable sip, but then the aftertaste hits and it's over. Notes: splash some on like cologne and you'll never have to share an elevator. Would we drink it again?: we won't even smell it again.Ting Country of Origin: Jamaica Color: pale, opaque yellow. Texture: fizzy to near Alka-Seltzer levels. Flavor: tart, crisp grapefruit with a certain Froot Loops quality. Notes: the ringer in the bunch. We knew we could count on the mighty Ting, and we knew its hyperactive bubbles would cleanse our palate after this ordeal. Would we drink it again?: anytime. The clear favorite of our panel. This Usain Bolt of soft drinks left the others eating dust (literally, in the case of the Pennywort Juice Drink).By now, a faint nausea had set in. We decided to cultivate it. Inspired by the "Suicide", the time-honored practice of combining all of the sodas at one fountain into one drink, we whipped up the most noxiously suicidal cocktail our collective mind could devise...Hmmm.... needs more bubblegum, wouldn't you say? Our amateur mixologists would.Gentlemen, a toast to our phony-baloney jobs!Down the hatch it goes. And, we hope, stays.Ugh. I've never had a soda hangover before, much less a multicultural soda hangover. Can we take the rest of the day off?After the stomach pains passed, we were able to digest the lessons we'd learned on this gut-wrenching journey around the world's soda fountain. Don't drink anything that both (a) comes in a can and (b) has crap floating around in it. If you're drinking foreign soda, brace yourself for intense sweetness that makes Mountain Dew look like Irish stout. And finally, while I failed to find a soda that could replace my usual tipple, this adventure was intriguing enough that I'm looking forward to further exploration. Hip me to your favorite exotic sodas below.
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:00:00 -0400 Select entire paragraphs while editing text on the iPhone [New Window]
I haven't seen this documented anywhere, but I discovered that you can select an entire paragraph of text by quadruple-tapping on it when entering text in the iPhone. For instance, when replying to an email, you can quadruple-tap on paragraphs in the quoted reply, then cut them.You have to do it pretty quickly, and take care not to move your finger too much between taps. Try it a few times, though, and you'll get the hang of it. And yes, I know it might sound weird, but I actually find it quite useful sometimes.[robg adds: This works, and isn't covered in the iPhone user's guide.]
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Secrets of the proxy icon in a program's title bar [New Window]
You can perform many useful tasks using the icon in the title bar of many OS X applications (known as the proxy icon), in both Apple-bundled (TextEdit, Preview, etc.) and third party (BBEdit, Path Finder, and numerous others) applications.For this to work, you need to be using a file that has had its latest changes saved (otherwise, the icon will be grayed out). Normally, when you click-and-drag on the title bar of a window, you just drag the window around. However, if you click-and-hold directly on the proxy icon, and optionally add a modifier key, you can access other useful functions. Here's what happens in most applications, including TextEdit and Preview:Drag icon: If you drag the proxy icon to a Finder window or your Desktop, an alias to the open file will be created at the location where you drop the icon.Option-drag icon: Hold down the Option (Alt) key prior to dragging, and you'll create a copy instead of an alias.Command or Control: ...
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Omron Step Pedometer 2 Pack [New Window]
Believe It Or WhateverWhen researchers tracked down these two Omron HJ-002 Step Pedometers years after theyd been adopted by separate families, they were amazed at what they found.After being raised thousands of miles apart in completely different socio-economic circumstances, the adult twin pedometers were not really all that much alike. One is a vegan raw-foodist; the other breeds fighting pigs. One believes in the spiritual unity of all mankind; the other one steals clothes from the bins outside Goodwill and re-sells them at huge markups. One likes the Beatles; the other prefers the stones. Not the Rolling Stones, just plain old stones.Their shared genetic heritage is obvious at first glance they look exactly alike, especially after the one shaved his mustache. But beyond appearance, just about the only thing they have in common is a strong aptitude for accurately counting your steps. They both feature identical large digital displays. They both sport belt clips and pre-installed batteries. And they both can count up to 99,999 steps.And yet, upon finally meeting after all those years apart, the twins discovered they had absolutely no interest in each others lives. The reunion turned tearful only when one of the twins maced the other during a dispute over the proper way to dispose of a broken compact-fluorescent lightbulb. Dont put them in the same pocket, is what were getting at. Especially if its the pocket where you keep your mace. Warranty: 90 Day OmronFeatures: Large digital display is easy to read and theres no programming requiredjust clip it on and start walking Counts up to 99,999 steps; accuracy rate can be adjusted easily Durable belt clip secures pedometer to your waist Includes an instruction manual and a pre-installed batterySpecifications: Power: 1.5 VDC (One LR43 Battery) Range: 0 to 99999 steps Operating Temperature: 14F to 104F (-10C to +40C) Battery Life: Approximately One year when used for walking 10,000 steps a day Dimensions: 2 1/3 x 1 1/3 x 1 (60 mm x 35mm x 25mm) Weight: 25gIn the box: 2 Omron HJ-002 Step PedometersDiscuss this product
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00:06 -0400 [Sponsor] OmniGraphSketcher From the Omni Group [New Window]
You can use OmniGraphSketcher to take curve-setting notes in Physics class, draw up an epic concept graph for Friday’s sales presentation, or visualize supply and demand for your Soylent Verde Homemade Dogfood venture. Whatever your topic, OmniGraphSketcher helps you make elegant and precise graphs in seconds.You get the power of a data plotting app, with the ease of a basic drawing program. Who knew making graphs could actually be fun? Try it today for free at http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnigraphsketcher/.PS: Stay tuned for OmniGraphSketcher for iPad, coming soon to an App Store near you. You can follow our iPad development progress on our blog. WootTF?!: Bunny Gulag [New Window]
Sure, the internet's weird. We get it. You can find just about anything online these days if you look hard enough. But every once in awhile you find something you definitely wouldn't have known to look for even if you wanted to see it.Like that. Near as we can tell, it's Usavich, a short cartoon series running on MTV Japan about two rabbits killing timein a Russian Gulag. The comedy is pretty universal, since there are really no spoken words as you follow Kirenenko, Putin, Leningrad, and Komanech through their extended stay in the Russian penal system.So if it's new to you, enjoy! And if it's not, feel free to attack us in the comments as being tragically behind the curve because you were all about it back when it was underground.As seen on Reddit. 
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:30:00 -0400 Flash In The Brainpan: Paper Cannon [New Window]
There are many monsters in the world. Some of them go out and do terrible monstery things. Some of them just sit alone in little u-shaped basins and don't bother anybody. C'mon, be honest, which one is gonna be easier for you to take out?  Like an angry bouncer at the most exclusive club in town, Paper Cannon offers you a chance to get rid of those irritating monsters while they're just standing around minding their own. "Hey, you!" you'll cry, "Take a hike!" And then some explosive grey cannonballs will make the point again, turning the quiet, motionless monsters into quiet, flying shrapnel. Don't worry, they probably deserved it. Like, they cheated on their taxes or something. Remember, you can't ever trust a monster. 
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:00:00 -0400 Dynamically attach files to iCal events using tags [New Window]
This hint shows how to utilize OpenMeta tagging to attach a set of multiple, often-changing files to an iCal event. Although it may work with other tag managers out here, I'm using TagoMan2 for this purpose, which allows me to refer to a tag using a tag:// URL scheme:Edit an event in iCalEnter tag://Name_of_tag into the URL field.Click on the link you just created; this will open up an empty window you can drag your files into.Drag in your files.The way this works is that TagoMan will associate a tag (e.g. Name_of_tag) to every file you drag in. When you click on the link again, TagoMan will search for all files using this tag -- any newly-tagged files that match Name_of_tag will show up in the list. Tags are Spotlight-aware, and this tag:// URL may be used in any app which support URLs. ...
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 Modify one iWeb project on multiple different Macs [New Window]
Here's a simple workaround that will let you modify your own iWeb website from multiple locations and machines: Carry the original files on a USB stick, and trick the local machines into using the USB stick instead of the local file by using an alias. Important to make this workaround work is that the alias file is set with its 'Open With' set to 'iWeb.' Detailed steps are below.This workaround assumes that the data for all websites created by your machine are on your USB stick. (For management of multiple websites, see this older hint). First, generate your website with iWeb. iWeb stores all information in your user's Library » Application Support » iWeb folder, in a file named domain.sites2. Navigate to this file in the Finder, then:Copy the file domain.sites2 to a USB stick.Create an alias of domain.sites2 (will be called ...
Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0400 A Thought Regarding the Old Apple-v.-Microsoft Look and Feel Lawsuit [New Window]
A bunch of readers have emailed regarding yesterday’s piece on the Apple-HTC patent suit to ask why I didn’t compare it to Apple’s ill-fated “Look and Feel” lawsuit against Microsoft. I don’t think the comparison is all that interesting or apt, basically.For one thing, that suit was a copyright case, not a patent case. I think it’s fair to say that’s an entirely different ballgame legally. For another, the personnel are completely different. The entirety of that dispute with Microsoft took place during Steve Jobs’s exile from Apple.But that actually led me to an interesting thought this morning. Leave aside the legal differences between copyright violations and patent disputes, and the two cases more or less boil down to the same fundamental situation: Apple brings to market a revolutionary next step in personal computers; competitors then use those same ideas in competing products. Microsoft and Windows then; Google and Android now.I can see that what some people — people who are far more sympathetic to the idea of Apple attacking Android via the courts than I am — are thinking is more or less that Apple got screwed the last time when a competitor was able to shamelessly use the ideas that Apple first created, and so Apple should do whatever it can to keep that from happening again.Apple’s argument in the Microsoft case was that Windows was a copy of the Mac’s copyrighted “look and feel”: mouse pointer, menu bar with pull-down menus, overlapping rectangular windows with a title bar at the top containing buttons for zooming and closing, scrollbars, icons representing applications and documents, click-and-drag text selection, drag-and-drop, a trash can, undo, a “desktop”, cross-application copy-and-paste — all these aspects from the Mac were also in Windows.But what if Apple had patented these things in 1984, and had successfully protected these patents from being used by other U.S. companies? (Or at least the features and designs which weren’t derived from earlier work at Xerox.) It’s not just Microsoft that would’ve been blocked from creating Windows as we know it. A company called NeXT would have been blocked from creating NeXTStep. Every single Mac feature I described above was part of the NeXT UI as well.Good ideas are meant to spread. Check the status of the online Apple Store via shell script [New Window]
Sometimes, like today, I'm particularly interested in the Apple Store's status...as in, when is it back up so that I can order whatever it is I'm waiting to order. While sitting around pressing Command-R this morning, I figured there must be a better way. After a few minutes with curl and GeekTool, I had the solution.Because I didn't have very much time to implement this trick this morning, I just created a new 'Shell' Geeklet in GeekTool, with the refresh set to every five seconds, that showed the output of this command:curl -s http://store.apple.com/us | grep backsoon | grep australiaNote that the above is specific both to the US Apple Store, and to the current version of that store. You may have to modify it for other geographies, or for future store site changes. Basically, what the command does is grab the Apple Store page via curl, suppresses the normal output (-s...
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500 10.6: See grammar suggestions on hover [New Window]
Snow Leopard has an built-in grammar checker (in Cocoa and other certain apps) that will place green dotted lines under any possible grammatical errors it detects. (You may have to enable this first, in the program's Edit » Spelling and Grammar » Check Grammar With Spelling.) However, accessing the corrections panel using Control-Click » Spelling and Grammar » Show Spelling and Grammar has always seemed cumbersome.Now I've discovered that simply hovering the mouse over the underlined word pops up a tool tip description of the error.[robg adds: The first option in the contextual menu will be the replacement suggestion, but the Spelling and Grammar box will typically have more information. Given you probably want to make the suggested change anyway, I prefer the contextual menu, so I can see and replace; the to...
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500 Enhance readability of sites with very small text on the iPhone [New Window]
Sometimes I visit a website on my iPod Touch that is almost unreadable due to the expected size of a screen on a desktop computer. Even when zoomed in, some sites have the text continue off screen, meaning I'd have to scroll left and right to read a whole line of text.I have MobileMe and sync my bookmarks between computers and my iPod Touch. And one day I happened across just such a too-small site. Frustrated, I decided to just try my Readability bookmarklet, and was happy to see it worked!You'll need either an iPhone or iPod Touch and a computer that you sync your device to via USB or MobileMe. From a computer, navigate to Readability and set your desired options. I like Inverse, Extra Large text, and Extra Narrow margins, but pick what you like. Drag your bookmarklet to your bookmark bar, as the site instructs. (You can move it to your Bookmarks menu, anywhere, or into the sidebar of Safari's Bookmark ...
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500 Avoid a potential issue with voice control on iPhone 3GS [New Window]
If you have entire albums, artists, or playlists excluded from shuffling in iTunes (The 'Skip when shuffling' flag is set), your iPhone 3GS will fail to play these albums, artists, or playlists when you select them using Voice Control if it has shuffle play mode enabled.The manner in which it fails makes it seem as if something is seriously amiss (hence this hint): It acknowledges your voice input, indicating that your selection is about to play (e.g., 'Playing album Avatar'), but then returns to whatever had been playing before. If nothing had been playing before you gave the voice command, the iPhone will remain resolutely silent after acknowledging your input.The solution to this 'issue' is, of course, to simply to turn off shuffle play mode. Unfortunately you can't do this with a voice command (as far as I know).
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500 Set photo titles to picture capture date in iPhoto [New Window]
The titles iPhoto chooses for just-added photos is the annoying "IMG_nnnn" serial number from the camera. This AppleScript simply takes the date of the photo (EXIF info that iPhoto knows very well) and uses it as the photo title. The format is: yyyy-mm-dd-hh.mm.ss, so it's a bit easier to read than the ISO version, but also easily sortable.Here's the code:tell application "iPhoto" -- activate -- bring iPhoto back to front copy (my selected_images()) to these_images if these_images is {} then error "Please select some images before using this script." set thename to "" set thepaths to "" set thedates to "" repeat with i from 1 to the count of these_images set this_image to item i of these_images --set this_file to the image path of this_image set thename ...
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500 Create Growl alerts for Address Book contacts' birthdays [New Window]
I have a lot of people in my Mac OS X Address Book. I thought it would be a nice idea to have the system check the birthdays in Address Book, and inform me of any forthcoming birthdays via a Growl notification. So I've created an Apple Script to do that (with a lot of help from a few other peoples).First, install Growl if it isn't installed. Also install the Terminal growlnotify command, which you'll find in the Extras folder on the Growl disk image. Next, copy and paste the following into AppleScript Editor:delay 0.5set isRunning to 0set timer to the time of the (current date)repeat while isRunning = 0 tell application "System Events" set isRunning to ((application processes whose (name is equal to "GrowlHelperApp")) count) ...
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500 Use one bookmark to load different versions of a site [New Window]
I have several sites that I access on both my iPhone and desktop, so I like to have quick access to them via the Bookmarks Bar. However, these sites have different versions for the desktop, for mobiles, and, in some cases, yet another version for the iPhone. Usually, the full version doesn't work so well on the iPhone, and the iPhone version is undesirable on the desktop.Instead of creating a plain bookmark, a little Javascript can make a bookmark context-sensitive, and allow you to have one bookmark that opens the right version of a page, depending on which platform you're browsing from. The basic idea is to use some client-side Javascript to check the browser's platform (a.k.a. operating system), and then tell the browser to access a URL based on that check.The code looks like this:javascrip...
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500 Experiment with GIMP's new single window mode [New Window]
Are you curious, like me, about the new Single Window Mode (most excellent; see this article at Ars for more details) available in the newest unstable 2.7.x GIMP releases? Well, sadly, the final and stable GIMP 2.8 release won't come out before the end of this year, and there are still no experimental 2.7.x binary releases available for Mac OS X (via X11). One could always try to compile everything from source, but that might be quite complicated and time-consuming.So, let's look at another, definitely easier way of running GIMP 2.7.x on Mac OS X: not (semi) natively through X11, but through virtualization. First of all, we need a virtual machine with the latest Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic), or even 10.04 (Lucid, in Alpha at this time) installed: you can create a 32- or 64-bit Ubuntu VM in...
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500 iPhone Apps on the iPad [New Window]
Brian X. Chen at Wired, on the default iPhone apps that aren’t present on the iPad: But if you recall, the iPhone ships with some apps that appear to be left out from the iPad: Stocks, Calculator, Clock, Weather and Voice Memos. What gives? Apple didnt respond to a request for comment, but Im willing to guess Apple will just stick those apps in the App Store for a free download, and theyll be the same apps as they were on the iPhone. After all, its unlikely theres much to do with those particular apps to make them visually special for the iPad.Actually, it’s sort of the opposite problem. It’s not that Apple couldn’t just create bigger versions of these apps and have them run on the iPad. It wasn’t a technical problem, it was a design problem. There were, internally to Apple (of course), versions of these apps (or at least some of them) with upscaled iPad-sized graphics, but otherwise the same UI and layout as the iPhone versions. Ends up that just blowing up iPhone apps to fill the iPad screen looks and feels weird, even if you use higher-resolution graphics so that nothing looks pixelated. So they were scrapped by you-know-who. Perhaps they’ll appear on the iPad in some re-imagined form this summer with OS 4.0, but when the iPad ships next month, there won’t be versions of these apps. At least that’s the story I’ve heard from a few well-informed little birdies.(There is, alas, no secret “widget” mode for iPad in OS 3.2, either.)Some (maybe even most?) iPhone games will work well as-is, on the iPad. Not just technically, but in terms of being fun and feeling right. But non-game iPhone apps that are just upscaled on the iPad are going to feel weird. And the run the app in a little iPhone-sized rectangle in the middle of an otherwise black screen mode is even weirder, I think. A 3.5-inch screen is just totally different than a 10-inch screen.On the whole, it’s actually rather un-Apple-like that they’re even allowing iPhone apps to run unmodified on the iPad. It’s a huge compatibility win, of course: an instant market of thousands and thousands of titles. Given the runaway success of the App Store and the fundamental technical similarities between the iPhone and iPad, it’s the sort of decision that most companies wouldn’t even think twice about. But it’s undeniably a sub-optimal user experience. iPhone apps on the iPad are a “good enough” thing, not an “exactly right” thing. Most companies — the ones that wouldn’t even see it as a tough decision whether to allow iPhone apps to run on the iPad — settle for “good enough” all the time. Apple, on the other hand, usually goes for “exactly right”.I’ll go so far as to predict that by the time Monday April 5 rolls around, it’ll already be an established meme that non-iPad-optimized iPhone apps are to the iPad what Classic apps were to Mac OS X — something you’ll make do with “for now” but can’t wait to abandon for the real thing.I’m not saying it’s a mistake that Apple is allowing the iPad to run iPhone apps. I’m just saying that the iPad is not a big iPhone. Fixing Mail.apps Undeleted Drafts Bug [New Window]
Over at Rixstep , the blogger is in a fiesty mood. But in the midst of his claims about "a lot of buggy code in Mail.app" and how "Apple never respond with fixes", he does raise a good point.Snow Leopard, and Leopard before it, are not every good at ... Using Snow Leopards built-in text snippets in Mail.app [New Window]
Text snippet apps like TextExpander or TypeIt4Me or Typinator can boost your productivity enormously, saving time and wear-and-tear on fingers. After Mail Act-on , TextEpander is the most valuable tool I use in order to Get Things Done fast.Not many people know that Snow Leopard now ... Clever miniMail plugin for mail.app re-released! [New Window]
Scott Morrison of Indev Software (producers of the MailTags and Mail Act-on plugins) has released a souped-up version of the miniMail plugin, which he recently acquired from Olive Toast Software.miniMail 2.0 retains all the goodness of the original--the ability to minimize Mail.app's interface like you can in iTunes--but adds ... Snippets plugin for Google Quick Search Box [New Window]
QuickSnippets is a new plugin for Google Quick Search Box (QSB) that adds basic snippet management to the utility's toolbox.It is easy to use and quite clever.First get the plugin from the developer's Github site.Copy the plugin file to your ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Quick Search Box/PlugIns/ directory, and restart QSB.Then to ... Scripts to integrate Toodledo with mail.app and MailTags [New Window]
Hawk Wings reader Himanshu Shukla emails to share two applescripts he has written which integrate the online to-do manangement service Toodledo with Apple Mail and the prince of productivity plugins, MailTags . His first script simply pipes a selected email from mail.app into your online Toodledo account, where ... How to email a file with Google Quick Search Box [New Window]
Several readers have posted in the comments of an earlier post, asking how to email a file using Google's Quick Search Box (QSB) utility.It was much easier to know to do this in Quicksilver using a trigger.In QSB it's not as obvious, but it's easy.First you need to have QSB ... 10.6.2 broke my Mail plugin! :-( [New Window]
Apple has changed the way that Mail.app interacts with plugins in Snow Leopard. As Ken Aspelagh describes it on the Mac Observer:"Each new version of Mail and the associated Message framework includes a unique code. Plug-ins have to explicitly declare themselves compatible with each new version," Mr. Aspeslagh told ... Mailplane lifts licence ceiling [New Window]
Ruben Bakker, the developer of Mailplane (a very clever app that "brings Gmail to your Desktop") has responded to customer requests by raising the number of Macs on which you can use the app with a single licence.In a post on the Mailplane Google Group he explains:Until recently, ... Script to archive emails into Evernote [New Window]
Justin at veritrope has written an applescript that will quickly import emails from mail.app into Evernote , the web-based note and information manager.It's easy to use. First, get the script from veritrope. Like all Apple Mail-related scripts, the best place to store it is in your ~/Library/Scripts/Applications/Mail ... Bottom posters rejoice! QuoteFix plugin is here [New Window]
Nothing raises the temperature among email aficionados like the debate over top-posting and bottom-posting in replies. I have my own barbaric views on this topic.QuoteFix is a plugin for mail.app that answers every bottom-poster's heart-felt cry. When installed, it places the cursor below the original message, or ... Book review: "The iPhone Developer's Cookbook" [New Window]
The first book to break the taboo on Apple's official iPhone SDK happens to be a good one READ MORE Time Capsule brings high class, high function to Wi-Fi access points [New Window]
Time Capsule combines networked storage, an 802.11n Wi-Fi bridge/router and USB printer sharing in one small box. You can't imagine the possibilities. READ MORE MS Office 2008 Special Media Edition, $149 for Black Friday. So what's so Special? [New Window]
This just landed in my inbox from Microsoft PR: We wanted to provide a quick correction that Black Friday shoppers will receive an instant $350 rebate (70% off) on Office 2008 for Mac: Special Media Edition. This offer is available on Thursday, November 27, and Friday, November 28, at all Apple store retailers, Best Buy Online, and Amazon.com. A $350 instant rebate off anything sounds okay, but what is Special Media Edition? When a vendor says "special," I hear "stripped." Special Media Edition is a really lousy name for the $499 SKU of Office 2008. It's the full suite:... READ MORE Live from Town Hall: Apple's iPhone 3.0 is here [New Window]
The new operating system for iPhone and iPod touch brings peer networking, push notification, and access to external accessories READ MORE Wrap-up from Town Hall: iPhone 3.0 developer beta available today [New Window]
The new operating system will be generally available this summer, and free to all iPhone users READ MORE iPhone 3.0: A brand-new iPhone in a free update [New Window]
Apple richly rewards iPhone user and developer loyalty with a generous helping of new operating features and programming hooks READ MORE iPhone owners, Apple shareholders score win against Apple and AT&T lawyers [New Window]
Might someone be prying lawyers' claws, one by one, out of the iPhone Developer Program? READ MORE iPhone data security best practices published [New Window]
Finally, someone pours a pail of salvation on the burning issue of iPhone data security READ MORE Boot Camp and Time Machine, for consumers only [New Window]
Quality issues aside, Time Machine and Boot Camp don't belong in the enterprise READ MORE Nehalem Mac Pro: The Mac reborn [New Window]
This isn't merely the ultimate Mac, but an impossibly idealistic concept for a fast, green, silent, rugged, expandable, and affordable top-end workstation, made real READ MORE Minor pain: 800-to-400 FireWire [New Window]
There must be a way to connect a full-size male 800Mbps FireWire to a full-size female 400Mbps FireWire READ MORE Coming soon to a generic server near you: OS X Server [New Window]
If you build OS X Server that runs as a guest on a virtualized host, buyers will come. READ MORE More from Town Hall: iPhone gets cut and paste! [New Window]
Smooth copy and paste of both text blocks and photos works across all iPhone applications READ MORE Fallout from Apple's divorce from Macworld Expo [New Window]
Macworld Expo, WWDC, Town Hals and Apple Store cover the Mac world quite well READ MORE Time Machine wipes out Boot Camp [New Window]
A backup tool that wipes out partitions? Say it ain't so, Apple READ MORE Attention Is the Real Resource [New Window]
Jason Snell — editorial director at Macworld — wrote an interesting piece on his personal site regarding full-text RSS feeds, prompted by Merlin Mann’s piece last week regarding The Atlantic.Snell writes: RSS doesnt generate revenue directly. There are ads in RSS, sure, but theyre cheap and lousy and dont have remotely the return as ads on web pages. The question is, if you publish all your content in RSS, does the resulting drop in traffic get offset by the fringe benefits? In the mind of some presumably including Merlin Mann and John Gruber you may lose a small percentage of tech-savvy people, but those people tend to be the ones who pass links around to friends and on their blogs and on Twitter, and a lot of those people will come to your web site from there, so in the end its a net benefit. Plus, more people will care about you and your brand and thats a good thing. I agree, thats good. I wish someone could cite some studies that prove that giving away your full-text RSS doesnt hurt traffic, but helps it.It should go without saying that what works for me here at Daring Fireball, as a one-man show, may well not work (or work nearly as well) for a large operation with a full editorial staff such as Macworld. But: DF’s RSS feed, which contains the full content of the site, not only generates money directly, but has grown to become the single largest source of revenue on the site.The ads in most sponsored RSS feeds are indeed cheap and lousy. The ads in DF’s RSS feed are neither. They’re priced at a premium, and have attracted (if I do say so myself) premium sponsors.What is “traffic”? I suspect Snell is talking about page views. When someone loads a web page in their browser, that’s a page view. Most advertising on the web (but not all) is sold using page views as the metric — advertisers pay an agreed-upon amount for every thousand page views on which their ad appears.When I switched DF’s free public RSS feed to full-content in August 2007, DF’s web page views had been growing steadily month-to-month. After the switch, web page views were stagnant, with no growth, for about a year. (If anything, they went down in the first few months.) But readership clearly continued to grow: subscribers to the feed skyrocketed. And, about a year ago, even web page views started growing significantly once again — going from a little over one million per month to a little over two million per month.If you’ve got a model where revenue is tied only to web page views, switching to full-content RSS feeds will hurt, at least in the short term. The problem, I say, isn’t with full-content RSS feeds, but rather with a business model that hinges solely on web page views. The precious commodity that we, as publishers, have to offer advertisers is the attention of our readers. Web page views are a terribly inaccurate, if not outright misleading, metric for attention. Subscribers to a full-content RSS feed are among the readers paying the most attention, but generate among the least web page views.A reader asking for a full-content RSS feed is a reader who wants to pay more attention to what you publish. There have to be ways to thrive financially from that.(I could go on, which is good, because my friend Jim Coudal and I are speaking together on this very topic — online advertising — at SXSW next week. Our session is at 3:30pm Sunday afternoon.)Update: Jason Snell’s thoughtful response. Ruby [New Window]
Hang in there, Ruby!
Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:01:51 -0500 Macworld Expo [New Window]
C'mon down!
Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:52:54 -0500 Letters.app Project Dissolves [New Window]
A shame, really.
Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:24:01 -0500 Apple Reveals Post-Tablet Product Plans [New Window]
A new market literally throbbing with potential.
Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:28:10 -0500 High Above Seattle, Bezos Plots a Product Launch [New Window]
Jeff Bezos is mad with power!
Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:53:01 -0500 iWork Killer App For Tablet? [New Window]
Say what?
Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:13:41 -0500 Welcome to Macintosh [New Window]
Documentary airing for cheaper readers.
Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:27:07 -0500 Apple Tablet To Redefine Another Industry [New Window]
Or field or something. Who am I? Malcolm Gladwell?
Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:44:22 -0500 CARS Still Not Back [New Window]
But we have new funding!
Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:46:02 -0500 Eff you, Gruber [New Window]
For Gruber from SeoulBrother on Vimeo.
Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:13:49 -0400
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