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1) Adafruit shows off the Square dongle for credit card payments on the iPhone
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/adafruit-shows-off-the-square-dongle-for-credit-card-payments-on/
Filed under: Hardware, Software, iPhone, App Store
Adafruit is one of a few companies that has been chosen to test the Square dongle that automagically takes credit card payments on any iPhone. Even though we got to see it in action at Macworld, I think every look we can get at this thing is worth it, considering just how darn revolutionary it seems. The video on Flickr shows just how quick and easy it is -- just swipe the card, and sign with your finger on the iPhone's screen.
I haven't bothered carrying cash for a few years now, and something like this only makes it easier to not only take payments for vendors, but for me to pay. Hot dog guy needs a few bucks but doesn't have a landline connection to run a credit card on? No worries, just swipe and done. Want to give to the Salvation Army guy over the holidays but don't have any money left in the wallet? Just swipe and done. Word has [...]
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2) Parallels gets down to bare metal with new server software
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/parallels-gets-down-to-bare-metal-with-new-server-software/
Filed under: Enterprise, Software
Parallels has announced a new version of Parallels Server for Mac called the Mac Bare Metal Edition. It's optimized to provide better performance for virtual machines running on an Xserve, and allows multiple, isolated virtual machines to run simultaneously on the same server. Using "hypervisor" server virtualization, system administrators can run, say, Snow Leopard Server, Windows 7 and Linux all at once.
In case you're curious, a hypervisor is a virtual machine monitor which directly controls the hardware ("bare metal") of the host machine without using device drivers from another operating system. At least, that's how I understand it.
A new utility, Parallels Virtual Automation, also provides an extended set of tools for managing, monitoring and maintaining virtual machines.
This is the first "bare metal" hypervisor for Intel-powered Apple [...]
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3) Plants vs. Zombies breaks records on the iPhone
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/plants-vs-zombies-breaks-records-on-the-iphone/
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
PopCap has released some sales information on their latest iPhone game, Plants vs. Zombies, and it's a runaway hit: the game has sold over 300,000 copies in just the nine days it's been out on the App Store, which means the company has garnered over $1 million in sales already. Very impressive -- first, we had an app make a million total, then a company was making a million a month, and now PopCap has done the same in just over a week.
So what's their secret? It's a high quality game, first of all, and PopCap has a reputation for making those already. Second, the game itself had a fairly high profile even before release, since it was extremely successful on the PC as well. And finally, you have to think that the price figures in as well -- I thought the game would sell for PopCap's usual $5, but they actually sold [...]
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4) iPhones you'll want to sink your teeth into
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/iphones-youll-want-to-sink-your-teeth-into/
Filed under: Humor, Odds and endsWe've had coverage of other iPhone edibles before, in particular the many cakes that have been created since the iPhone first came to life in 2007.
Now, via Cult of Mac comes word of iPhone cookies from several bakeries around the globe. The first, as seen in the photo at right, is from the Green Gables Bakery in Japan. It has a "camera" indent on the back, a nicely framed display on the front side, and icing app icons and markings all around. These cookies appear to be made of gingerbread, which should be enough to make you begin drooling.
Some hungry iPhone-o-philes might want their iPhone cookies to appear a bit more realistic, which is apparently why Chicago-based Sugarbeez is making the photorealistic consumables seen after the link below. These cookies appear to use the edible and inkjet-able frosting sheets that are used by many cake [...]
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5) Boxee back on Apple TV
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/boxee-back-on-apple-tv/
Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Apple TVBoxee recently released a brand new version of their beta software, but unfortunately, that build didn't happen to work on the Apple TV. That's now been fixed, however, and you can now get the USB flash drive creator app that will give you a patchstick to install the latest version on that Apple box hooked up to your television. Here's a quick FAQ on the whole process if you need a little help with it, but it sounds pretty straightforward: set up the patchstick, power up the AppleTV with patchstick installed, and enjoy. And even if you have alpha currently installed, you can just put the stick in and upgrade to the beta, no worries.
That's some very impressive and quick work by a bunch of people who aren't obligated to do this at all (there are a few XBMC devs on the team as well, and the patchstick will allow you to install XBMC also, if [...]
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6) Found Footage: One designer's vision of an iPhone 4G
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/found-footage-one-designers-vision-of-an-iphone-4g/
Filed under: Video, Odds and ends, iPhone
Before the original iPhone and iPad appeared, TUAW and other blogs were inundated with mockups of what the devices could look like. Some of them were hastily thrown-together Photoshop mashups, while others were beautifully-rendered depictions.
Antonio De Rosa of ADR Studio has created his own vision of what the next-generation iPhone could look like. In both the short video seen above and the individual renderings displayed on the ADR Studio website, De Rosa shows a thinner device with an aluminum shell and stand, AMOLED screen, and a "frontal camera."
Of course, this design could be as far off as some of the impressive mockups that were developed for the iPad, but we appreciate De Rosa's detailed work and beautiful design sense.TUAWFound Footage: One designer's vision of an iPhone 4G originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) [...]
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7) Terminal Tips: Generate random filenames for digital photo frame images
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/terminal-tips-generate-random-filenames-for-digital-photo-frame/
Filed under: Tips and tricks, UNIX / BSD, Terminal TipsIt's not at all unlikely that you or a relative have received a digital photo frame as some sort of gift. The concept is great, one frame on your mantle, many pictures on display. Unfortunately, Apple has yet to enter the photo frame market -- at least until the iPad is released, that is. In the interim, we are stuck dealing with photo frames that look good but do not always function as we expect.
One example of a photo frame feature gap is the lack of ability to "shuffle" photos so that they can be displayed in a random order. While sitting at my grandma's house for hours on end, it quickly became a personal challenge to try and successfully guess the next photo that would appear.
Luckily, the screencast junkies over at Murphy Mac have found a somewhat simple solution to this conundrum. The problem is the result of frames using [...]
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8) TUAW review: Smoother iPhone browsing with VanillaSurf
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/tuaw-review-smoother-iphone-browsing-with-vanillasurf/
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App ReviewWhile most iPhone and iPod touch users make do with the built-in Mobile Safari web browser, there are a number of alternative browsers that offer features that didn't make it into Safari. All of these alternative browsers have one thing in common -- they are all based on MobileSafari as a result of Apple's policies. What the other browsers bring to the table are features like full-screen browsing, different ways of organizing tabs, and ad blocking.
Many of the alternative browsers have passed by my iPhone home screen at least once before being summarily dismissed, but there is one that has actually been getting some use lately; bitStorm's VanillaSurf. The free browser, which is now at version 2.1, offers features that seem more at home on a laptop or desktop machine than on a smartphone.
Launching VanillaSurf for the first time [...]
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9) Find my iPhone rescues two phones at Busch Gardens
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/find-my-iphone-rescues-2-phones-at-busch-gardens/
Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone, MobileMeIt was like something out of CSI. The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that the snatched iPhones incident began when a mom and her stepdaughter were getting aboard the SheiKra roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. The theme park provides unlocked storage bins for people to put things in so they don't fly away during the ride, so their two iPhones (in purses) were dropped in. Probably not a very safe thing to do, but that's what they did.
When the 13-year-old girl cut her lip during the ride, the pair was about to rush off to a first aid station -- forgetting about their possessions -- but before they could get back to the storage bin, someone snatched the purse with the iPhones inside.
The police and park security were called, and then the 13-year-old crime victim remembered MobileMe. In an employee break room, the teenager [...]
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10) Leaked file might be the first promo list of iPad books
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/leaked-file-might-be-the-first-promo-list-of-ipad-books/
Filed under: iTS, Rumors, App Store, iPad
digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/leaked-file-might-be-the-first-promo-list-of-ipad-books/';
The authors include Stephen King, Timothy Ferris, Malcolm Gladwell, Dubner & Leavitt, Kennedy, Agassi, Palin and Beck. There's bestselling fiction (The Lovely Bones), fact (A History Of Modern Britain) and autobiography (Wishful Drinking). The prices range from $14.99 (for Too Big To Fail) all the way down to the magic of free (Heat Wave). It's an eclectic list... and it might be the first round of books to be highlighted on the iBooks app in a few weeks.
These titles are sampled from a list of ebooks that one of our tipsters turned up; we were then able to confirm that it was sourced from Apple, and it was found with other assets used to populate the iTunes store UI. It's not immediately clear whether the 112 titles listed are truly [...]
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11) Mac 101: 3 volume control tips
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/mac-101-3-volume-control-tips/
Filed under: OS, Mac 101Adjusting the volume on your Mac via the keyboard is pretty easy: there are 3 buttons, one for Volume Down, one for Volume Up, and one for Mute.
When you adjust the volume, a sound is played to help you determine when it is loud enough or quiet enough. Most times I find this helpful, but sometimes I want to adjust the volume without hearing the noise. To temporarily disable the "volume change" sound, hold down the shift key while you adjust the volume. You will see the visual indicator on-screen, but no sound will come out.
For example, on my iMac keyboard, I can increase the volume by pressing fn+f12, but if I press fn+ shift+ f12 it will increase the volume without making any sound. Very handy especially if you are in a meeting or working in a library, etc.
(Thanks to TUAW reader @webgalpat for that tip!)
But what If you never want to hear the sound when you [...]
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12) Rumor: UK iPad pricing
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/rumor-uk-ipad-pricing/
Filed under: Retail, Rumors, iPadWebsite Geeky Gadgets has reported a tip they received on UK iPad pricing. Apple's UK website still lists the cost in US dollars with the disclaimer, "Please note, pricing is in US dollars. International pricing will be announced at a later date."
According to Geeky Gadgets' unconfirmed source, the iPad will be priced as follows when it's launched across the pond:
The 16GB Wi-Fi will be £389
The 32GB Wi-Fi model will be £439
The 64GB Wi-Fi model will be £489
It should be noted that the source didn't have any pricing information on the Wi-Fi + 3G model, and further suggested that the UK launch date for the iPad is more likely to be in April rather than March.
As of this writing, those prices put the UK version at a slightly higher cost than those in the US, as £389 is approximately $594.89 (the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad will sell for US$499). This is all [...]
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13) Apple announces winner of the 10 billion songs promotion
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/apple-announces-winner-of-the-10-billion-songs-promotion/
Filed under: Apple Corporate, iTS, Apple Financial, iTunesJust yesterday Apple's iTunes store reached a huge milestone -- 10 billion songs sold. That's an incredible number. In fact, it's almost as incredible as the prize that Mr. Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia received for buying the magic song. As his reward, he received a $10,000 iTunes gift card, which he may use towards any of the music, TV shows, movies, apps, books, etc. in the store.
What was the 10 billionth song downloaded? "Guess Things Happen That Way" by Johnny Cash.
Apple's vice president of Internet Services Eddy Cue remarked on the milestone in a recent press release. "We're proud that iTunes has become the number one music retailer in the world, and selling 10 billion songs is truly staggering."
Congratulations to Mr. Sulcer! Enjoy that hefty gift card. Might we suggest a little Battlestar Galactica [iTunes [...]
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14) Full text searches on the iPhone? There WAS an app for that.
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/full-text-searches-on-the-iphone-there-was-an-app-for-that/
Filed under: Rumors, Software, iPhone, App StoreSometimes you can't win for losing. A few weeks ago, I was talking to fellow blogger and all-around genius Brett Terpstra about how I wished there was a full-text search for iPhone mail. He told me that there was, and it was called reMail. I immediately downloaded the free app, paid the US $3.99 for the in-app feature of using IMAP mailboxes, and reMail started downloading copies of all my mail. This took overnight, but so what? When done, I could search on any word or term just like the Macintosh Mail application, and be rewarded with a listing of all the incidences of the term in my 3,000 or so email messages in a fraction of a second.
This worked like a dream. I immediately put reMail on my home screen and was happy. At least, that was, until last week when I read that Gabor Cselle, reMail's creator, announced that the app was being [...]
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15) Quicken Essentials for Mac now available
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/quicken-essentials-for-mac-now-available/
Filed under: Software
After a four year absence, the next version of Quicken for the Mac is here. It's called Quicken Essentials for Mac and is a ground up Cocoa rewrite. I've been using the program for a few weeks now. Is it worth the wait? Well that depends what you need in your financial software.
When I interviewed Aaron Patzer, VP/GM of Intuit's Personal Finance Group, he was quick to point out that it's called Quicken Essentials for a reason: "It's called Essentials because it's what we consider to be essential for most users - about 80% of users. We went to people's homes and watched them use it. The majority of them just want to know: How much do I have? How much do I owe? How much do I spend on gas and food? How many times do I go to this restaurant? How many times do I go to Starbucks? What investments do I have? Let me set a budget to control my spending."
If an easy [...]
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16) TUAW Quick Plays: Alchemize, Dizzypad, Alice in Wonderland
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/02/25/tuaw-quick-plays-alchemize-dizzypad-alice-in-wonderland/
Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Here's a quick look at three games for the iPhone and iPod touch we've gotten a chance to play lately.
Alchemize is an interesting twist on the old Tetris/Dr. Mario dropping block gameplay. The idea is that you twist and drop pairs of potions that will match up whenever three of the same kind touch each other, and then leave one transmuted element of the next level in their place. There are five different modes to play as well, including an Avalanche mode that will drop a line of elements on the field if you fail to make a match in a certain time frame, and even a Bejeweled-style timed mode with a full field of elements to switch around for matches. The game is a lot of fun to pick up and play, and while the graphics aren't much more than sprites, the gameplay (and the music) more than make up for any disappointment in that [...]
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