------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Downloads aren't gone from Apple.com, just less visible
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/16/downloads-arent-gone-from-apple-com-just-less-visible/
Filed under: AppleWe've had a few concerned readers contact us, worried that Apple has deleted or otherwise discontinued the "Downloads" section of its Web site.
Fear not, gentle reader, they are still available in the same place as always: http://www.apple.com/downloads/.
What caused the confusion was the redesign of Apple.com that took effect at the end of last week. In order to make room for an iPad tab in the navigation bar at the top of Apple's Web site, something had to go.
Fortunately you can easily locate the downloads section simply by typing the word "downloads" into the search box.
Below the links to Apple products, the iTunes store and the Apple store, the bottom link will bring you to Apple's downloads page, which has a wide variety of applications available, both from Apple and from various third-party developers.
You can also click the Support tab if you're [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
2) CoPilot live is updated and continues 30 day free trial offer
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/copilot-live-is-updated-and-continues-30-day-free-trial-offer/
Filed under: iPhone, App ReviewA new version of CoPilot Live enhances and fixes a lot of issues in the previous versions. According to the company, the app now includes improved guidance at complex intersections, Facebook status updates, free local search, and the latest maps of North America. More than 15,000 miles of roads have been added, 73 completely updated counties and hundreds of map improvements submitted by the CoPilot Live User Community.
If you want to try a sophisticated nav app but don't want to shell out any money right away, ALK technologies is continuing to offer a free version of CoPilot Live Directions for a month. The app is full featured, and includes things like voice guidance and 3D mapping.
If you decide not to buy the app, you'll lose the voice guidance and 3D, but still will have use of turn by turn directions throughout the U.S. and Canada. If you want to [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
3) IT pros: Macs cost less to manage than PCs
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/it-pros-macs-cost-less-to-manage-than-pcs/
Filed under: Enterprise, Surveys and PollsThe Enterprise Desktop Alliance (an association of several Mac-centric IT vendors) recently surveyed 260 IT administrators in the US to find out which computing environment is cheaper to manage: PCs or Macs. It turns out Macs cost less to manage than PCs for 65% of the IT admins surveyed. 19% of survey respondents said the two platforms cost the same to manage, while 16% said PCs cost less to manage than Macs.
According to the survey, Macs were cheaper to troubleshoot and required fewer help desk calls; system configuration, user training, and servers/networks/printing were all cheaper for a Mac environment than a PC environment. Software licensing fees turned out to be nearly identical for both platforms.
The survey doesn't factor in the costs of the Macs themselves; Macs do present a large up-front investment, especially compared to the [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
4) GDC 2010: Hands-on with Superbrothers' Sword and Sorcery
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/gdc-2010-hands-on-with-superbrothers-sword-and-sorcery/
Filed under: Developer, iPhone
"Superbrothers" is the alias of Craig Adams, a Toronto-based artist who specializes in pixel-based artwork and cinema. He's a big fan of musician Jim Guthrie, and after the two met a while ago (and discovered they were actually fans of each other), he was inspired to create a few music videos of the songs that he heard. Then, a little while back, Adams ran into a few guys from Capy, a game developer (they've made some great puzzle titles like Clash of Heroes for the DS and Critter Crunch for PSN) also from Toronto, and he decided to team up with them to make his first game, and release it on the iPhone.
I got to play the game for the first time at GDC, and what I found was an interesting mix of art, music, and gameplay that shows just how amazing a platform like the iPhone can be, both for independent developers and for artists who just want to express [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
5) Apple's new Senior Prototype Engineer to work on wearable computing
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/apples-new-senior-prototype-engineer-to-work-on-wearable-comput/
Filed under: Apple CorporateMore news from the HR department, as Apple's hiring is extending beyond the Googleplex raid noted earlier. The company's new Senior Prototype Engineer, Richard W. DeVaul, has a Ph.D. in Media Arts & Sciences from MIT. The cool part, Computerworld notes, is that DeVaul has experience in wearable technologies. He's the co-founder of AWare Technologies, and his dissertation was on a project called "The Memory Glasses," a wearable memory aid that required minimal attention from the user.
The only wearable technology that Apple has produced is the Nike+ iPod kit. When stuck inside a sneaker (or attached to the laces), it feeds information to an app running on an iPod or iPhone regarding a jogger's speed, distance, calories burned and so on. While serious runners have questioned its accuracy, it has motivated a number of otherwise couch-bound geeks to hit the [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
6) A "plastic bag" or "an iPad case"? You be the judge.
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/a-plastic-bag-or-an-ipad-case-you-be-the-judge/
Filed under: iPad
I was surfing on Amazon over the weekend and decided to see what would come up when I searched for "iPad". One of the first results was: TrendyDigital WaterGuard Waterproof Case/Cover for Apple iPad, Blue Border and what caught my attention was that it only had one star. That seemed pretty severe, given that the iPad was only available for pre-order on Friday. How could an accessory already be getting bad reviews?!
The answer? Amazon reviewer ffass from Brooklyn, NY United States gave it a one-star review because "This appears to be a $20 plastic bag. Very trendy, indeed." ffass went on to say: "Wow. 'TrendyDigital' hopes that hyperventilating iPad users will be crazed enough to by [sic] this $20 bag for their spiffy new gadgets. Give me a break."
Sure enough, that's what it looks like, although to be fair it also has a strap to "wear around neck or shoulder." The [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
7) FCC wants to know your mobile broadband speed
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/fcc-wants-to-know-your-mobile-broadband-speed/
Filed under: iPhoneYou may remember that Verizon started running ads a while ago showing AT&T's anemic 3G coverage map. AT&T responded by saying "Our coverage includes 97% of the country!" In the small print on Verizon's ads they make it clear that AT&T does have coverage outside of 3G. In the small print on AT&T's ads they make it clear 3G isn't available everywhere.
What kind of difference does 3G really make? For American wireless users, the FCC is interested in knowing how fast your mobile broadband really is. The agency has released a free iPhone app, made by Ookla, who also made the free Speedtest.net Speed Test app for iPhone (there is also an Android version).
In case you're concerned about your personal information ending up in the servers of the Feds, note the app disclaimer: "Results may be pooled to analyze the quality and coverage of mobile broadband connections across the [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
8) Apple announces iPad battery replacement service
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/apple-announces-ipad-battery-replacement-service/
Filed under: Hardware, Apple, iPadApple's new iPad battery replacement service is actually an iPad replacement service. Apple announced this week that if an IPad requires service due to a dead or dying battery, it will replace that iPad entirely with free shipping. The service itself costs US$99.
Note that the battery must have died on its own accord; if you dropped it, spilled Mountain Dew inside or otherwise damaged the iPad in a way that diminished the battery's functioning, it's not covered. Also, the iPad you receive will not contain any of your data, so make a full backup before you send the defective unit off to Apple (and do a factory restore to remove all of your data if you're the paranoid type).
You can get the process started at an Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. Apple says to expect the whole exchange to take about 1 week.
[Via [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
9) Found Footage: VMware gets schooled by Parallels in MacTech benchmarks
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/found-footage-vmware-gets-schooled-by-parallels-in-mactech-benc/
Filed under: Gaming
Many Mac owners who install Windows do so for gaming. Those uninterested in Boot Camp can try out virtualization software, which lets you run Windows in a virtual environment on a Mac. The two most popular are VMWare Fusion and Parallels. Before making a purchase decision, wouldn't it be great to see how they handle graphics side-by-side? You drive a car before you buy it, right?
The folks at MacTech thought so, and set up identical machines for testing purposes. In the video above you'll see two MacBook Pros running Windows XP over Mac OS 10.6.2 via VMWare Fusion 3 (on the left) and Parallels Desktop 5 (on the right). They were put through several graphics-intensive tests simultaneously with dramatic results. We don't want to spoil the surprise, but suffice to say that Fusion got spanked.
You can get all of the details on the test, setups and results [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
10) GDC 2010: Ngmoco's Neil Young on how freemium will change the App Store world
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/gdc-2010-ngmocos-neil-young-on-how-freemium-will-change-the-ap/
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Apple, Developer, iPhone, iPad
On the third day of GDC 2010, Ngmoco's Neil Young took the stage in one of the largest rooms at the conference to talk about what his company had "unlearned" in its time in the App Store. Ngmoco has become a large and polarizing figure in the world of App Store development -- after starting out with a big investment from the iFund, it's moved quickly to become one of the biggest iPhone-only developers, and after starting out with a few premium titles like the very successful Rolando, have recently made waves with its "freemium" business model. Young talked about the company's history so far, and went in-depth on Ngmoco's plan for ruling the App Store and why he believes it's the "most significant shift and opportunity for [game developers] since the birth of this business."
We've summarized Young's long address in this post. [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
11) GDC 2010: The Parrot AR.Drone's augmented reality
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/gdc-2010-the-parrot-ar-drones-augmented-reality/
Filed under: Accessories, Gaming, Hardware, Peripherals, Software, Developer, iPhone
We actually got to play with the iPhone-controlled Parrot AR.Drone quadricopter back at Macworld a little while ago, but we didn't get a chance to see the "AR" part of it (augmented reality, of course) until GDC last week. Parrot pulled out the AR targets for us, and while the games they had running were very rudimentary, we did get a good feel for the action.
The verdict? It works, but it's not that fun yet. Sure enough, when the Drone's cameras picked up the weird pattern of black and white dots and/or the striped tube that the company attached to the top of a second Drone, the iPhone displayed a lock-on target or the weird robot that you can see above (that's the iPhone's video running out to a television, something that's technically a no-no under the current SDK). And when the drone moved around [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
12) NY Times details Google/Apple relationship souring
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/ny-times-details-google-apple-relationship-souring/
Filed under: Apple CorporateWhat began as a jovial relationship between Google and Apple has devolved into an ugly personal and legal battle that's only getting worse.
In 2006, Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt joined Apple's board of directors. Google and Apple collaborated on the iPhone's mapping services, and a year later, Schmidt joined Jobs on stage during the iPhone's introduction at Macworld Expo. The two men were all smiles and compliments, and the venture looked bright.
After the iPhone's release in the US, both companies went about their business, both collaboratively and independently. While Apple worked on solidifying a foothold in the global smartphone market, Google continued development on Android and the Chrome OS -- both competitors to Apple's iPhone and OS X. Eventually, the divergent interests of Apple and Google came to a head, and Dr. Schmidt resigned from his position [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
13) GDC 2010: Hands-on with Sketch Nation Shooter
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/gdc-2010-hands-on-with-sketch-nation-shooter/
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Apple, Developer
When I was reminded of its name at GDC, I couldn't recall hearing much about Engineous Games. It's the development studio founded by Nitzan Wilnai, a former software developer at EA and Yahoo who's gone to work making iPhone games for himself. But I did recall Engenious' first title, Tatomic, which I wrote about a while ago -- it was a great puzzler that put a new spin on Tetris' falling block gameplay.
Unfortunately, despite my purchase, Tatomic didn't sell as well as Wilnai would have liked, so he's decided to "create a game that would sell itself." It's called Sketch Nation Shooter, and he sat down to show it to me last week in San Francisco. He started off the demo by promising that he would make a game for me in two minutes, and sure enough, 98 seconds later, he had a custom spaceship shooter game up and running, as you can see in [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
14) TomTom for U.S. and Canada updated with real time traffic and more
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/tomtom-for-u-s-and-canada-updated-with-real-time-traffic-and-mo/
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touchWe told you it was coming, and now it has arrived. The popular US$59.95 TomTom app is ready to hit the road with real time traffic available as an additional in-app purchase.
Included with the 1.3 update at no additional charge is Google local search, revised map data, music fading, automatic day and night mode based on your location, and the ability to add locations from other applications.
The real time traffic option has some nice features. Updates are received every 3 minutes. If a delay along your route is found, you will get notification from the app and automatically be re-routed. The not-so-great feature is that the traffic info will set you back $19.95 for 12 months of information. By contrast, when I reviewed the live traffic option on the Navigon app in November, it was a one time price of $19.95. The Navigon app [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
15) GDC 2010: Interview with Keith Lee of Booyah
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/gdc-2010-interview-with-keith-lee-of-booyah/
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Internet, Developer, iPhone
Booyah is an App Store company with quite a few lessons in its past already. The founders are former developers at Blizzard (they worked on both Diablo and World of Warcraft before setting off on their own), and after their first app, Booyah Society, didn't exactly strike gold on the App Store, they went back to the drawing board on their idea of "real life achievements," and have done much better with their latest app, MyTown -- it's one of the top grossing apps around, with more users and higher engagement than the popular Foursquare.
We got to sit down with CEO Keith Lee for an interview at GDC, and he told us about what they learned from Booyah Society, why Booyah is convinced that real-life social gaming is where it's at, and what they think of the iPad (and what Blizzard thinks of the iPhone). Read on for more.
So you [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
16) Saving your surfing on the Mac
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/15/saving-your-surfing-on-the-mac/
Filed under: Features, Cool toolsI'd wager that most of you spend as much of your time on the web as I do, and that it's one of the first places you look for answers to just about any question. As a web designer, I look there for inspiration, solutions and am constantly learning how to improve my design and my code with the help of the internet community.
It's become important, over time, for me to be able to re-locate the answers I've found, and to archive things that have made a difference for me. I don't just want a folder full of bookmarks, I want to be able to search my local repository in a more abstract way. The tools for doing this are abundant, and many of them free. I thought I'd share part of my current system for saving my tracks across the 'net.First, I should note that, wherever possible, I use OpenMeta tags to classify the things I save. This isn't always an option, [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive Blog Alerts (email notifications of new posts) for The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW). If you no longer wish to receive Blog Alerts for The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), go to this link:
http://shootthebreeze.net/blogalert/index.php?action=leave&r=31736&k=HUJ55T9U47K7CP3R
==================================================================
Need a website??
Host unlimited domains for only $6.95 per month!
http://www.bluehost.com/track/bomdemais/ba
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire