------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Enter to win a copy of Fruit Ninja from TUAW and Halfbrick Studios
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/enter-to-win-a-copy-of-fruit-ninja-from-tuaw-and-halfbrick-studi/
Filed under: Deals
I wrote about Fruit Ninja last week, and since then it's been very popular on the App Store. Creators Halfbrick Studios tell us it's sold quite well so far. The game's simple, but well-polished and a lot of pick-up-and-play fun. It's only $1, so there's no reason not to go over and get it yourself. Just in case you haven't, though, Halfbrick has sent us a few promo codes for the game to give away to five lucky TUAW commenters.
Want to win a copy of Fruit Ninja?
Here are the rules:
Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us what kind of fruit you like slashing most.
The comment must be left before midnight EST on Thursday, May 6th, 2010.
You may enter only once.
5 winners will be selected in a random drawing.
Prize: A promo code redeemable for a copy of [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
2) Found footage: Android tablet prototype running (and crashing) Flash
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/found-footage-android-tablet-prototype-running-and-crashing-f/
Filed under: Found Footage, iPad
Adobe is showing off Android-based prototype tablets at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. Zedomax has a pretty gushing review of Flash's performance on these tablets, calling it "rather incredible technology." There's no mention of how the battery life in these prototype tablets suffers while playing Flash video, though. In his "Thoughts on Flash," Steve Jobs noted that using Flash on the iPhone effectively halves its battery life.
What's far more interesting, and far more hilarious, is that although Zedomax claims Flash works "flawlessly" on these tablets, there's certainly evidence to the contrary. In the video above, the Android tablet reviewer is showing off the Flash functionality. Just as he says, "Good thing I didn't buy an iPad, because this one does Flash," the browser crashes. "Whoops," the reviewer says, gamely trying to carry on with [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
3) Former US Labor Secretary on antitrust investigation: "Hands off Apple"
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/former-us-labor-secretary-on-antitrust-investigation-hands-off/
Filed under: iPhoneIf you want a preview of how this nonsensical antitrust investigation against Apple is going to play out, look no farther than Robert Reich, US Secretary of Labor during the Clinton administration. Reich has written in defense of Apple regarding the possibly forthcoming antitrust investigations. He notes that the investigations are taking place because of Apple's disallowing of third-party programming tools like Flash CS5 when writing apps for the iPhone. "What's wrong with that?" Reich asks. "Apple says it's necessary to maintain quality. If consumers disagree they can buy platforms elsewhere."
An expert in US labor law, who was once the secretary in charge of labor policy in the US, sees no problem with Apple's practices regarding development for its platform. Case closed, Adobe. Thanks for playing.
Read on to find out why this investigation started in the first [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
4) TUAW First Look: Flick Baseball Pro
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/tuaw-first-look-flick-baseball-pro/
Filed under: Gaming, iPhone
Freeverse has released the latest title in their Flick Sports series, and Flick Baseball Pro is now out on the App Store for $2.99. We got a quick hands-on with the game right after release, and while it's a pretty good arcade-style baseball simulation, there are a few quirks and missing features that might make you want to go for a more official baseball app.
Still, just like the other titles in the Flick Sports series, Flick Baseball Pro exudes polish and really takes advantage of Freeverse's growing familiarity with the iPhone and iPod touch hardware. Read on for an in-depth first look at the game.TUAWTUAW First Look: Flick Baseball Pro originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 05 May 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
------------------------------------------------------------------
5) Prototype Apple interactive TV box appears on Ebay
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/prototype-apple-interactive-tv-box-appears-on-ebay/
Filed under: Apple HistoryIf you're in the market for an Apple prototype but don't have $5,000 to spend, consider Ebay. This week an Apple Interactive Television Box (AITB) showed up, and quickly sold for less than fifty bucks.
Built between 1994 and 1995, the AiTB was meant to act as a sort of liaison between the consumer and an interactive television service. In practice, the user would select what s/he wanted to see with a remote. The AITB would then pass those choices on to a central server which provided the content. We assume Apple had a subscription model planned. You can view the manual here (PDF).
Units exist in various states of completion, from non-functioning units with an ill-fitting case to near production models with FCC stickers. Even these won't boot, however, and the remote controls are especially difficult to find.
The unit that recently sold on Ebay looks fairly [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
6) AdAge doesn't like iAd's pricing scheme
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/adage-doesnt-like-iads-pricing-scheme/
Filed under: AppleAdvertisingAge confirms today what the Wall Street Journal pointed out last week: advertising with Apple's iAd service won't be cheap. Most advertising agencies charge either a flat rate per thousand impressions (CPM) or a small amount each time a user clicks an ad (CPC). With iAd, Apple will do both.
Under Apple's arrangement, advertisers will pay US$10 per 1,000 impressions, $0.01 for each ad displayed, and $2 for each ad clicked.
By comparison, AdMob reportedly charges $10 to $15 CPM (on average). Customers opting into CPC campaigns will pay $0.15 to $0.30 per click. AdAge's Kunur Patel and Michael Learmont dislike Apple's deal, saying "Apple is reinventing mobile ad pricing, and not in a good way."
Fortune notes that Apple has not yet released an iAds developer's kit, meaning that customers will have to work with Apple when creating campaigns. Again, the price [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
7) Cupidtino will help you meet your iSweetie
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/cupidtino-will-help-you-meet-your-isweetie/
Filed under: Cult of Mac
I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner -- Cupidtino is a brand new site that promises to hook you up with a fellow Cult of Mac member for romantic entanglements. That's right -- they claim to be the first "Mac-inspired dating site," destined to bring single and like-minded Mac fans together. Trying to meet someone at the Genius Bars can be so expensive and time-consuming, and all of those boys and girls on OkCupid just don't get it when you try to explain why the Unibody MacBook is such a great step forward and why the iPad isn't just a big iPod touch. Enter Cupidtino -- the site was started up by three San Francisco tech developers, and while it's only in pre-launch mode right now, you can sign up for a closed beta (and don't worry, as one of TUAW's only available bachelors, I did -- let the hilarity ensue).
When you sign up, you're asked which Macs and [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
8) TUAW TV Live: the all-Mac episode
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/tuaw-tv-live-the-all-mac-episode/
Filed under: WIN BusinessAs we promised earlier today, TUAW TV Live is all about Macs this week. If you've been weary of all the talk about iPads and iPhones, we hope that today's show will be a splash of refreshing and juicy Macness. We'll be starting at around 5 PM EDT sharp, and all you need to do to watch or join in is follow these easy instructions.
To join in from your Mac or PC, just go to the next page by clicking the link at the bottom of this post, and you'll find a live stream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to join in on the fun by asking questions or making comments.
If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application.
iPad users [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
9) Crush the Castle for iPhone free today only
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/crush-the-castle-for-iphone-free-today-only/
Filed under: iPhoneI'm not much of a gamer but I adore Crush the Castle. It's a medieval themed game where you use a trebuchet to knock down your enemies who inhabit an increasingly difficult arrangement of fortifications. It's a good test of skill and your knowledge of the physics of heavy airborne objects.
Today only, the full featured game is free, and in Uncle Mel's view it is definitely worth grabbing. It's great for passing the time in an airport, and can help you conquer your daily build-up of frustrations. The sound effects are super, from the screams of your victims to the subtle environmental sounds that match the locale in which a particular round takes place.
My only regret is that there is not yet an iPad version, but it doesn't scale up too badly and is still fun to play. If you haven't played this game, I recommend trying it. If you have only been using the 'lite' [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
10) Italy's Justice Minister pulls out iPhone during talkshow to check law
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/italys-justice-minister-pulls-out-iphone-during-talkshow-to-che/
Filed under: Apple
The count of heads of state who flaunt their iDevices continues to grow. This week, Italy's Justice Minister, Angelino Alfano, used an iPhone to reference an Italian law.
While speaking on a prime-time television show, Minister Alfano used his iPhone, clad in a patriotic case, to access the app Codici and Leggi (19,99 €) and quote verbatim an Italian law on wiretapping.
We've seen other political leaders using Apple gizmos recently. For instance, Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and South Korea's minister of culture, tourism and sports, Yu In-chon, have all been seen with iPads (though Yu In-chon did not activate his, as they had not been cleared for wireless communication by the South Korean government at the time).
Here in the US, First Lady Michelle Obama recently used a borrowed iPhone to send her first tweet [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
11) Adobe Captivate joins Mac family
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/adobe-captivate-joins-mac-family/
Filed under: SoftwareAlong with the release of the CS5 suite, Adobe is delivering a new product to the Mac platform; Captivate 5 is shipping next month, both in a standalone version and as the anchor of the new eLearning Suite 2 bundle alongside Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop Extended, Soundbooth and Acrobat. Captivate lets educators, trainers and documentation experts create tutorials and simulations that can be deployed to websites or learning management (LMS) infrastructure.
Captivate has had a long run as a Windows app, so the interface was completely refreshed for the Mac release. New features in v5 include full roundtrip support with other components of the suite, so you can edit sound clips in Soundbooth or animations in Flash and return to where you left off in the Captivate project. The new version also allows for better video synchronization within a project. The PowerPoint [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
12) Can the Cloud replace the Finder?
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/can-the-cloud-replace-the-finder/
Filed under: Odds and endsSachin Agarwal, cofounder and CEO of Posterous, and former Apple employee who worked on Final Cut Pro, thinks that the Finder is dead. I wouldn't break out the sackcloth and ashes (or the champagne, depending on your feelings towards the Finder) just yet.
He has two main points:
We will no longer interact with applications or files on a desktop PC
The central point of syncing your data will no longer be your PC, it will be MobileMe (the cloud)
Let's address his second point first: bwahahahahahaha. OK, I feel much better. As anyone who has used iDisk knows, iDisk is terrible in its current form. It's slow, it's easily corrupted, and it does not handle sync errors well.
I've been waiting for Apple to get MobileMe and especially iDisk in shape for years, and every year I ship off my $100 for MobileMe hoping that this will be the year. We are no [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
13) TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT Today: an all-Mac episode
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/tuaw-tv-live-at-5-pm-edt-today-an-all-mac-episode/
Filed under: WIN BusinessIn all of the rush to cover news of the iPad and iPhone, we sometimes forget to look at the products that, until recently, were the bread and butter of Apple's financial existence -- Macs.
On today's episode of TUAW TV Live, your host Steve Sande is going to try to remedy that by spending at least one hour talking about nothing but Mac. Mac hardware, Mac peripherals, Mac software, even old Macs. We'll have some slick demos of Mac software favorites, talk about rumors of upcoming Mac hardware updates, and chat about our favorite (or least favorite) Macs from the past.
Join us today at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT) for our weekly live video chat. Drop by TUAW about 5 minutes before the scheduled start of the show, and you'll see a post with an embedded video stream player and chat box. If you'd prefer to just watch on your iPhone or iPad, we'll have links to those as [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
14) Integrate SMS polling into Keynote with Poll Everywhere
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/integrate-sms-polling-into-keynote-with-poll-everywhere/
Filed under: iWork
There's market prominence, and then there's sheer ubiquity. Even though it's been called a drain on our nation's military prowess, in the business world, you really can't get away from PowerPoint. Microsoft's presentation station within Office is a core participant in meetings large and small, and there's an enormous ecosystem of add-ons, plug-ins, and collaborative apps that extend the basic product.
Most of these enhancements are Windows-only affairs, and some of them are downright useful (I'm thinking of Articulate Studio in particular, which would be plain awesome on the Mac). If you want to do audience response measurement within a meeting, for instance -- letting attendees vote or answer questions on the fly -- you're pretty much locked in to displaying those results within PowerPoint.
There's hope on the horizon for Keynote, though. The SMS-centric Poll [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
15) Eight ways the iPhone pwns the iPad
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/eight-ways-the-iphone-pwns-the-ipad/
Filed under: iPad
digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/eight-ways-the-iphone-pwns-the-ipad/';
We love our iPads. We wouldn't dream of giving them up. And yet, there are ways and situations where the iPhone simply works better. Without taking potshots at our beloved iPad, here is TUAW's respectful list of mega-win scenarios where the iPhone takes first place in usability.
Making phone calls. Yes, you can use line2 to convert your iPad into a quasi-phone that accepts incoming calls, or fire up the Skype app, but for real-world use, nothing beats a device that you can stick into your pocket and then forget about. It rings, you answer, you talk, you hang up. It's a lot easier to use an iPhone than an iPad to make phone calls.
Grocery lists. I don't know if you've tried hauling around an iPad in your shopping cart at SuperTarget or Publix, but it doesn't work very well. It's the [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
16) Apple.com's Downloads page being updated again
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/apple-coms-downloads-page-being-updated-again/
Filed under: SoftwareThere are signs of life at Apple's Download page. If you look at the list on the right Hot Plan 1.5.1, Screenflick 1.6.13, and Volumetrix 2.0.1 were all added on May 4th. Before that, Pasteboard Recorder was updated on March 26th.
If you look at the All Categories: Most Recent list, you will see almost two pages of apps were updated yesterday.
Apple redesigned the Apple.com website in early March, which included the removal of the downloads link from the home page. At first this seemed like just a redesign issue, but then Apple stopped updating the downloads page altogether.
Many developers wrote in to say that traffic had dropped off significantly after this happened. Others commented that they had always used the Apple download page to find new software.
So what happened during the hiatus? My guess is that even a company with Apple's financial resources [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
17) Coming soon: Paying for stuff on Visa by waving your iPhone
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/coming-soon-paying-for-stuff-on-visa-by-waving-your-iphone/
Filed under: iPhoneYou've probably seen contactless payment terminals before. They're used in many stores, restaurants, and other locations, with either a smart credit card containing a secure memory card or some sort of fob being used to make the payment. You just wave it at the terminal, and you've paid your bill.
Visa and DeviceFidelity are working on a way to let iPhone users make payments by waving their iPhones in front of contactless payment terminals. They'll be offering an iPhone case with an embedded secure memory card that hosts Visa's payment application, Visa payWave.
Any place you find a Visa contactless payment terminal, there will also be a potential spot for iPhone users to pay for goods or services using their Visa credit card account. Security is still important: Visa notes that the mobile payment application can be protected with a password, and that users will [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
18) A less-than-graceful keynote
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/a-less-than-graceful-keynote/
Filed under: Steve Jobs
We've seen the keynote in 60 seconds, and we've seen the "only the adjectives" 'approach before. Here's a slightly less complimentary way to show off the keynote, though, with all of the "ums," "aahs," and other interjections that popped up during the iPhone OS 4.0 keynote a while back.
Far be it from us to make fun of Mr. Steven P. Jobs, of course, but something funny like this actually shows off how good he really is at doing it right. Seeing him up there on stage with his turtleneck and jeans, all enthusiastic about whatever "magical and revolutionary" device they've cooked up this time, is half the fun of a new Apple product announcement. If Steve were any less eloquent and smooth than he is, you might end up with something like this: a guy desperately trying to put a few words together about his new product. It's not nearly as effective, but it's much [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
19) TUAW's Daily App: White Lines
http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/05/tuaws-daily-app-white-lines/
Filed under: iPhone
This iPhone game borrows its title from Grandmaster Flash, but rather than a game about the perils of drug addiction, it's actually a memory game. Kyle Webster is an illustrator who made this Simon-like drawing challenge. The game offers up a series of white strokes on the screen, and its your job to replicate them exactly. Get them right to earn a higher score, but get three wrong and your game is over.
The game's simplicity is outweighed by its speed. As with the traditional Simon game, things can get overwhelming very fast. There are quite a few difficulty levels for all kinds of gamers, and the experience of drawing with a purpose on the multitouch screen does keep it interesting. OpenFeint integration means you can challenge friends for high scores, too, which increases the replayability. The one drawback I found (and maybe it's just because I was playing the [...]
------------------------------------------------------------------
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??
Set up and host as many websites as you want for only $6.95 per month TOTAL, at BlueHost.com!
http://www.bluehost.com/track/bomdemais/ba
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire