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1) Checking in from Samana Bay, Dominican Republic, aboard the M/S Regatta
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/checking-in-from-samana-bay-dominican-republic-aboard-the-m-s/
Filed under: iPadIt seems that a lot of Apple-related events happen while I'm on cruise ships. Back in 1998, for example, I was aboard a cruise ship when I read the headline that Apple had decided to drop the Newton MessagePad. Before we went on this trip, I knew that Apple would start taking iPad pre-orders and reservations on March 12, so I expected that I'd just be able to pull up the Apple website early in the morning, pop in my reservation, and then go on with my vacation. Little did I know that it was going to take me until 4 PM local time (3 PM ET) on March 12th to get my reservation into the system.
Just before I went to sleep the evening of March 11th, I saw a post here on TUAW that outlined when the Apple Online Store would open for pre-orders and reservations. Doing a quick time calculation in my head, I determined that I'd be able to pop in at 9:30 AM local time and make [...]
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2) Use DynDNS for better success with Back To My Mac
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/use-dyndns-for-better-success-with-back-to-my-mac/
Filed under: MobileMeMany folks were excited when Apple announced Back to My Mac as part of MobileMe. Being able to remotely access your Mac from anywhere sounded like magic. We're used to products from Apple that "just work" but for most people most of the time, Back to My Mac "just doesn't."
To maximize your chances, you're supposed to use a supported router, but even that's no guarantee. At home I have an Airport Extreme Base Station (Wireless-N), and at the office I have an Airport Extreme Dual-Band model. I don't think it's possible to get a "more compliant" setup, yet I still can't get it to work most of the time.
Under the adage "nothing ventured, nothing gained," I took a chance and signed up for a free account with DynDNS. DynDNS gives you a free hostname which will go to your computer even when your IP address changes. There are scads of DynDNS domain names available, but for [...]
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3) "Overwhelming" demand limiting iPad in-store pickup
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/overwhelming-demand-limiting-ipad-in-store-pickp/
Filed under: Retail, Apple, iPadAccording to MacDailyNews, shoppers who placed iPad pre-orders this morning are being told by Apple Store employees that demand could affect their plans for in-store pickup.
It seems that several customers ordered iPads this morning, opting for at-home delivery. For whatever reason, they later changed their minds and opted for in-store pickup. That's when things got tricky.
When requesting the switch, those customers are being told that their existing orders will have to be cancelled and new in-store orders placed. However, the employees warn, demand for the iPad has been so "overwhelming" today that they can no longer guarantee that an in-store pickup order will be available on April 3rd if placed at this late hour.
As of this writing, the online Apple Store notes that Wi-Fi iPads ordered today will be able for pickup at Apple Retail Store "...between [...]
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4) Possibly as many as 50,000 iPads pre-ordered in first two hours
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/possibly-as-many-as-50-000-ipads-pre-ordered-in-first-two-hours/
Filed under: Retail, Apple Financial, iPadThe early adopters are out in force today. Based on analysis from Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog & the investors of the AAPL board on Investor Village, it seems that as many as 50,000 iPads were pre-ordered in its first two hours of availability this morning. That's pretty staggering demand, especially considering that on a typical day Apple only receives an average of 15,000 online orders for all products combined.
Naturally, we have no way of knowing if these numbers are exact as of yet. The numbers reflect over 50,000 orders placed in two hours, and the percentage of those that are iPad orders isn't clear. Considering that the iPad was just made available for pre-order today, however, and the 15K daily average noted above, it's likely the majority of orders placed this morning were indeed for the iPad. Additionally, the numbers only reflect the [...]
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5) iPad 101: iPad AppleCare pros & cons
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/ipad-101-ipad-applecare-pros-and-cons/
Filed under: Apple, iPadConsidering AppleCare for your iPad? I know that I am. For $99, AppleCare extends your iPad warranty coverage to two years from the date of purchase. Although AppleCare tends to be expensive, for certain purchases it can really save you, especially for devices which run a higher risk of component failure over a lifetime of hard use -- such as laptops and other mobile tech.
Many Apple aficionados tend to avoid buying AppleCare for robust devices like the Mac mini series. Those units tend either to die right away or last forever. They are highly self-serviceable for anyone who has a reasonable degree of comfort with a screwdriver.
The iPad and the iPhone, on the other hand, can feel like accidents waiting to happen. Without a simple avenue for owner-repair, they are more of a black box purchase. And their components can and do die much more unexpectedly. In my [...]
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6) iPad 101: Managing your 3G data plans
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/ipad-101-managing-your-3g-data-plans/
Filed under: iPadMuch as I love AT&T's prepaid services, their interactive system for purchasing feature packages... well, it kind of sucks. I can't count the number of hours I have spent on their 611 purchase line trying to get the chirpy fake human at the other end (no, seriously, the robot is very cheerful and upbeat) to properly confirm my correct order.
With the help of human operators (who cannot, by the way, actually effect the purchase), I have a cheat sheet that sits next to my computer and gets updated as they change their menu system: sometimes you have to say "yes". Sometimes you have to say "buy it". It's all a bit of a mess.
So when I read through Apple's updated iPad 3G page, I was delighted to see that you can add your prepaid 3G feature packages from the iPad without ever having to speak to chirpy fake humans. It's all done from the padtop. And that, let me say, is [...]
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7) iPad 101: Reserve an iPad from outside the US
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/reserve-an-ipad-from-outside-the-us/
Filed under: iPadIf you're living in Canada or Mexico -- but close enough to the border to make a trip to a US Apple Store -- Clean My Screen has posted instructions for reserving an iPad outside of the US. There are 23 steps in the guide, but it doesn't look terribly complicated.
It involves the creation of a new account with a US address and no payment method, but with a real email address. Then you can confirm your account and make a reservation, although you'll need to make a trek (or have a friend in a convenient location do it) to a brick-and-mortar US Apple Store to retrieve your iPad.
As noted in the article, having a US iTunes account can be handy for a handful of other reasons, including being used to buy free apps and music, and potentially get free eBooks once the iBook Store opens. If you live outside of iPad reservation territory, give it a shot and let us know how you [...]
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8) Quizarium the multiplayer trivia app is nearly ready for prime-time
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/quizarium-the-multiplayer-trivia-app-is-nearly-ready-for-prime-t/
Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review
Quizarium [free], a multiplayer iPhone/iPod touch trivia game, arrived in the App Store today. I got a chance to look at a pre-release copy and I found some problems with the interface and flow of the game. Some problems will be solved either upon release, since an update is being approved right now, or within a few days after release. According to Anthony Almanza, one of the developers at Lithuanian software development firm On5, Apple has gotten much quicker with approving updates. I spoke with Anthony at length about the app and offered a number of suggestions that will be implemented quite soon.
Quizarium uses the Plus+ social play network which allows many players to compete against each other by answering trivia questions in a number of set category rooms, or in new rooms that can be created by users. A server [...]
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9) GDC 2010: Fallen Earth comes to the Mac, brings an iPhone app
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/gdc-2010-fallen-earth-comes-to-the-mac-brings-an-iphone-app/
Filed under: Macworld, Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store
Fallen Earth is a respectable postapocalyptic MMO -- I've never played it (one MMO is enough for me, and the gigantic World of Warcraft is still claiming my time), but it's grown pretty popular since release in September of last year. And now the game is set to pick up another chunk of audience, as the owner Icarus Studios has announced that they're releasing a Mac client for the game. It's currently in beta (and was made using Wine), but if you're interested in trying out a new MMO with a postapocalyptic twist, head on over, give the client a download (you'll need a game account, though there's a free trial available), and give the team a good Mac welcome.
That's not all, though -- Icarus is also working on their very own iPhone app, and I got to play with it this week at their GDC 2010 booth. For Fallen Earth [...]
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10) iPad adds Screen Rotation lock. Recumbent users scream "Finally!"
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/ipad-adds-screen-rotation-lock-recumbent-users-scream-finally/
Filed under: AppleApple has finally added a screen rotation lock to one of its iPhone OS computing products. The button, which appears on the side of the new iPad will lock the device into its current orientation, preventing the unit from responding to re-orientation events. For everyone who has ever tried to play a game while lying down on a couch or a bed, let me say: Thank you, Apple!
Finally, we'll be able to lock our orientation in place and not worry about an overly helpful system trying to do its best to keep up with the way we hold our screens. If you've ever tried reading a webpage, scanning mail, or just playing a game on the iPhone while lying on your side, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
Can't wait for this to appear on the next iPhone as well!
Thanks, Attila - hat tip to The LoopTUAWiPad adds Screen Rotation lock. Recumbent users scream "Finally!" originally [...]
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11) iPad fever: What didja get?
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/ipad-fever-what-didja-get/
Filed under: Retail, Apple, iPadWith iPad preorders finally available, at least for USians, I was relieved to place my order for an 16 GB iPad, due to be delivered on or after April 3rd.
Along with a bluetooth keyboard (which I've been meaning to pick up for some time now), a case, and taxes, the whole kit & kaboodle came to about $650 for me.
I declined AppleCare for the moment, and am now feeling a little conflicted. At $99 for two years of coverage, it seemed a little steep. However, AppleCare has saved me in the past; it's something I've meant to buy on less robust items and earlier technology. I'm probably going to end up adding it on, although please feel free to convince me otherwise in the comments.
I kept with my decision to go with the 16GB unit for now. I may end up passing the unit along to family once I'm ready to upgrade to a better system, but I do need a unit as [...]
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12) GDC 2010: From rags to riches on the App Store
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/gdc-2010-from-rags-to-riches-on-the-app-store/
Filed under: Gaming, Developer, App StoreWhile we weren't able to stay the whole time (the life of a TUAW blogger at a covention is varied and hectic), the iPhone Game Developers' Luncheon at GDC 2010 was a pretty enlightening experience. After a little varied networking among guests, hosts PlayHaven, Cooley Godward Kronish (a law firm that specializes in startup companies), and MplayIt started up the panel discussion. The iPhone developers in attendance were Igor Pusenjak of Lima Sky (the creators of the very popular Doodle Jump) and Bryan Mitchell, a solo developer who created a game called Geared that's risen to the top of the App Store charts.
The most interesting thing we learned at the luncheon (in among a lot of legal talk about forming corporations and copyright law) was where these two developers came from. Mitchell was a filmmaker who had to work construction "after film work [...]
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13) ClickToFlash 1.6b7 solves YouTube's "Old Flash? Go upgrade!" message
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/clicktoflash-1-6b7-solves-youtube-old-flash-go-upgrade-message/
Filed under: Internet ToolsIf you have have ClickToFlash installed, you may have seen a note telling you that you have an old version of Flash and encouraging you to upgrade.
As you might expect, you don't need to upgrade Flash, but you do need to upgrade ClickToFlash. The current version is ClickToFlash-1.6b7-upload1.zip, but you may have go to the Github page for ClickToFlash to download it.
Jonathan Rentzsch explained that he hasn't been able to update it himself due to illness. However, given that it is open-source, four others (identified as ndfred, Justin, ssp and lapcat) identified the problem and a solution, and Rentzsch merged it back into the main branch of the code.
That's pretty awesome, if you ask me.
So if you've run into this problem at YouTube, take a few minutes, download the new version, quit Safari, and run the installer. Voilà!TUAWClickToFlash 1.6b7 solves YouTube's [...]
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14) GDC 2010: Hands-on with Faraway
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/gdc-2010-hands-on-with-faraway/
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPad
Steph Thirion's first iPhone game was Eliss, a touchscreen-based arcade game that had you combining and maneuvering planets around one another, and trying to size-match them up with black holes to earn points. As he told us (stay tuned for an exclusive interview with the indie developer), it was pretty hard -- even more so than he actually intended it to be. So, for his second iPhone game, Faraway, he's gone much simpler. Inspired by the iPhone game Canabalt, Thirion has created a one-button game in which the goal is nothing less than to explore the universe. He has it running on a Mac at the show (so he can project the video onto a bigger screen), and we got to have some hands-on time with the new game.
You control a comet that flies around an inky black void speckled with dots and circles; the pixelated space aesthetic [...]
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15) Get ready for those iPad pre-orders! Apple Store down
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/get-ready-for-those-ipad-pre-orders-apple-store-down/
Filed under: iPad
The Apple Store is currently down in the US, the UK and the rest of the world. Grab your credit card and get ready for the iPad pre-orders to begin at 5:30PT, 7:30 Central, 8:30ET, and 1:30 GMT!
...and back up now, orders pouring in. Note that Apple is offering $30 off of MobileMe subscriptions with the purchase of an iPad. Preorders are limited to two per person, and devices will ship for delivery on 4/3 where Saturday delivery is available.TUAWGet ready for those iPad pre-orders! Apple Store down originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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16) iCalShare relaunches
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/12/icalshare-relaunches/
Filed under: Software, Internet Tools
After a long absence iCalShare.com has relaunched with new search tools and an improved user interface. iCalShare is a site dedicated to sharing calendars for use in applications like iCal, Google Calendar, or Outlook among dozens of other web and desktop apps. The site contains over 3,500 calendars across 40 different categories from Academics to Television. Calendars are free to download and can be used with any desktop or website application that can import iCalendar files.
How it works: Just search the site for a calendar of your choosing, click "subscribe" and that calendar will automatically be added to your iCal. Since it's a subscription-based calendar, it will automatically update whenever the author edits the calendar. You can also create and share your own calendars on iCalShare for free after registering with the site. Whether you're a [...]
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