Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, Hacks, iPhoneWarning: If you are baffled by people who think dismantling technology is fun, and completely fail to understand the excitement of building robots to battle other robots, this post may not be for you. Just so you know.
On the Make: magazine blog, they recently posted a piece about the evolution of a project. It was an iPod remote from last year that has gone from a "start and stop" only device to a full featured remote. It is a lovely piece of tech, powered by Arduino hardware. Arduinos are open-source circuit boards and software you can use to develop interfaces with all sorts of electronics.
I remember reading the first post about this remote last fall and being interested in where he would take this project, mostly because I love seeing what people do with Altoids tins. I have to admit hooking one up to a giant "Easy" button for my car never really occurred to me, though.
I really like the idea of building my own remote; partly so I can say I did it, but also because it would be a nicer way to get my iPod or iPhone (depending) working nicely with my car stereo.
Honestly I only understand about half of what he's talking about in this article, but I'm good at following instructions and I am reasonably handy with a soldering iron, so this doesn't look completely unreasonable. If I do end up building one I'll be sure to post all about it for you. In the meantime, have you built an unholy alliance between your Roomba and your iMac, or any other variety of Mac Tech Mashup? Tell me about it, I'd love to see what you all can do!
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/finsprings/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0TUAWHack: The iPod serial library enables homebrew remote controls originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

EA on Tuesday said it will add to its EA Sports Active trainer for the Nintendo Wii a new version, EA Sports Active 2.0, that will be available for the Sony PS3, Wii, iPhone and iPod touch. While the title isn't finalized, the system will rely on wireless control, with leg and arm straps that contain motion sensors, a heart rate monitor and an online hub to record and share workout data....

Today TMO readers are talking about what's involved in syncing data from Android-based mobile phones with their Mac.

Apple has scored a victory in public perception through two important wins in Brand Keys' 2010 Loyalty Index. The iPhone helped it top the researchers' smartphone ranks, while unibody MacBooks helped push it above Dell and all others Windows PC brands in the full-size notebook computer category. Although it technically doesn't produce a netbook, Apple also managed a position in the category as the MacBook Air commanded more loyalty than either Nokia's Booklet 3G or Sony netbooks like the VAIO P and W....

The addition of video calls to O2 UK iPhone plans was a listing error, says a company spokesman. "The iPhone section of our website states video calling is charged at the same price as voice calls," the spokesman tells MacNN. "We can confirm that this was listed in error. We will be amending our website shortly to clarify this and would like to apologise for any confusion caused."...

Dejal Systems announced the immediate availability of Tweeps 1.0 for the iPhone and iPod touch on Wednesday. Tweeps lets users manage their Twitter account settings as well as follow and unfollow other Twitter users.

HP on Wednesday has released a MediaSmart Expander for TiVo application that will give TiVo DVRs the ability to transfer recorded TV content to and from HP MediaSmart Servers, freeing up storage capacity on the DVR. The free application will also let users manage the recordings stored on the server and stream the content to any connected compatible devices, including PCs, Macs and gaming consoles....

Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, iPadEver since the iPad's introduction a month and a half ago, the internet has been awash in criticism of the as-yet-unreleased device. "It's just a big iPod touch," many have said. "No Flash, no multitasking, no sale," others bemoaned. And a few have gone so far as to say, "It doesn't do a lot of things that a netbook that costs half as much will do." For these reasons and many more, many of the pundits and forum dwellers have but one prediction: the iPad is going to crash and burn.
Don't you believe it, because the critics have been wrong before. Several times, actually, according to The Week, which provides a list of five Apple products the critics thought would fail. Out of those five, only one, the Newton, failed to find mainstream success. The other four were industry-defining products which went on to sell millions of units each.
What did the critics have to say about these four "failed" Apple products when they first debuted, and which products were they? Click "Read More" to find out.
1. The Mac
It seems absurd now, but there was a time when some critics thought the Mac would be a complete failure. They considered the mouse-driven interface "Useless." Ponder that one for a bit. "Awkward," "Not easy to learn," and of course, "Costs too much" were other 1984-era complaints leveled at Apple's latest creation. These critics were used to the keyboard-driven interface of DOS-running PCs, and from the sounds of things, they considered the Mac, with its graphic user interface and "awkward" mouse, to be nothing more than an overpriced novelty, doomed to fail.
I hardly need to tell you what happened next. The original Macintosh completely revolutionized the computer industry. Within only a short time, companies like Microsoft scrambled to duplicate the GUI/mouse combo the Mac brought to the market. Today, nearly every desktop, notebook, and netbook out there runs a GUI/mouse interface. And 26 years after the first Macintosh debuted, Apple still sells Macs by the millions every year. I wish I could fail half as hard as that.
2. The iMac
"No floppy drive?!?" was the echoing cry among the tech world in 1998. Add to that the iMac's hermetically-sealed case and not particularly upgrade-friendly components, and once again, tech critics and build-it-yourself users who had been used to beige towers predicted the iMac would never catch on. Instead, the iMac sold like crazy and almost instantaneously doubled Apple's PC marketshare. Twelve years later, the iMac is still Apple's best-selling desktop, and it shows no signs of going anywhere anytime soon... unlike those floppy disks everyone once thought were so crucial.
3. The iPod
One of the greatest things about the internet is that in a way, it's the closest any of us will get to time travel. Let's go back to October 23, 2001, and get Slashdot's now-famous opinion of the just-announced iPod: "No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame."
The comments that follow are even better. "I don't see many sales in the future of iPod." "All I can say is, as an Apple 'fan', I'm sad." But don't just take Slashdot's word for it. The forum folks at MacRumors had some true gems too: "Great just what the world needs, another freaking MP3 player." "I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player?" "'I'd call it the Cube 2.0 as it wont sell, and be killed off in a short time...and it's not really functional." "The Reality Distiortion Field[TM] is starting to warp Steve's mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off." "Not exactly 'revolutionary'. " "The real money is in DRM and distribution (ala Real Musicnet). If Apple were smart they would be focusing on high gross revenue from services rather than a playback device." "It is by no means revolutionary or groundbreaking. It is an MP3 player. BFD. It is just a step in the evolution of an MP3 player [...] Think different is dead."
It goes on like that, for pages and pages. And this is at a site full of Apple fans, the majority of whom were unimpressed with the iPod at best and thought it was Apple's death knell at worst. People who weren't great fans of Apple at the time, like the guys behind Penny Arcade, had even harsher things to say about the iPod, even two years after its release (not safe for work language -- it is Penny Arcade, after all). Over nine years later, where are we? Over a quarter of a billion iPods have been sold since then, and it's largely due to the iPod's momentum that Apple has become the phenomenal success it is today.
4. The iPhone
For the first half of 2007, before the iPhone actually hit stores, people either thought it was the greatest innovation of the past ten years (at least) or an overpriced, overhyped device that lacked features common to many other phones. Of course, there was no lack of punditry from those who thought the iPhone was doomed, and Apple right along with it. Tech critic John Dvorak said of the iPhone, "I'd advise people to cover their eyes. You are not going to like what you'll see." A former CEO of Palm said, "We've learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in." And who could forget Steve Ballmer of Microsoft, perhaps the best-remembered critic of the iPhone: "There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance." Ballmer claimed Apple would be lucky to get 2-3% cellphone marketshare.
Over 42 million iPhones later, Apple has become the largest mobile device company in the world. And whether you agree that HTC and other phone manufacturers have violated Apple's patents or not, the influence the iPhone has had on the smartphone industry is undeniable. Before June of 2007, almost all smartphones looked like clones of the Blackberry. Less than three years later, an awful lot of smartphones now look like clones of the iPhone instead.
With these four products, Apple drove the evolution of three industries: PCs, portable media players, and smartphones. All four products were smashing successes despite all the doom and gloom from both professional and armchair tech critics. Now, with the introduction of the iPad, Apple is aiming at a new industry: ultraportable computers. For the past month and a half, at least half of everyone paying attention to the iPad has laughed at it, pointed out its shortcomings, and predicted its failure. My prediction? A year from now, we're going to have a very long list of misguided iPad quotes to point and laugh at.TUAWDon't trust the critics: Four Apple products they thought would fail originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pioneer hoped to move the technology of DJ mixers forward today by launching a new addition to the DJM line. The DJM-2000 is the first mixer with a multi-touch display and uses the 5.8-inch LCD to provide control over the sound that would be difficult with buttons. At a basic level, it lets musicians put up a set of custom interfaces for controlling a Mac or PC's music software through MIDI. Gestures also work to create "sidechain" mixing, and on-screen sliders can fine-tune the frequency....

At least two major game developers are now considering Mac ports in the wake of Valve's move to offer support. Among these is Gas Powered Games, known for titles like Dungeon Siege and most recently Supreme Commander 2. "We, as a developer, will include a Mac platform option in all of our proposals moving forward," says company founder Chris Taylor. "We're in 100 percent support of it, absolutely."...

Google Maps expanded on Tuesday to include bike route directions for the United States. According to Google, bike directions was the most requested feature by Google Maps users.

A leak of marketing material for Dell's Mini 5 on Wednesday has revealed a heavy focus on Amazon services. The tablet will have a special content deal and should not only carry Android's existing access to Amazon MP3 but a Kindle e-reader app and a viewer for Amazon's video services. The flyer found by Engadget implies Video On Demand, which so far would be new to Android....

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Freeware, App Store, iPad
We got to sit down with Australian developer Firemint here at the Game Developers Conference 2010 in San Francisco -- it's a mobile game developer who hit it big last year with the very popular iPhone game Flight Control, and while it used to make mobile games for just a handful of larger game publishers like EA, the company is now trying to cement a reputation for making a smaller stable of high quality App Store games. "We like to joke that we went from ten customers to ten million," community manager Alexandra Peters told us.
She also showed us their second game, Real Racing, which has been winning all kinds of awards even in the crowded accelerometer racing game genre, and talked with us both about Flight Control HD (their upcoming "soon after launch" title for the iPad) as well as what's next for the company.
Real Racing was impressive for an iPhone racing game. While the accelerometer-as-steering is basically a cliche in iPhone games at this point, Real Racing pulls it off pretty well by focusing on that -- depending on the settings, you can simply let the car accelerate and even break on its own, and just focus on hitting the curves while driving 48 different cars around the game's 12 tracks, or actually jump in and control the car yourself.
We only got to drive a few laps, but the game's crystal-clear presentation got us interested enough to want to play more. The game is currently $4.99 in the App Store, but there is an interesting lite version to try as well -- Volkswagen actually approached Firemint after the success of the game and commissioned an "adverware" version to release on the App Store. It's there to try -- unfortunately, the content is a little light for a game with so many ads, but it's one of the better integration models for in-game ads I've ever seen, and the extra commission for Firemint certainly help offset the costs of development for a free game.
Firemint also told us about the version of Flight Control they're working on for the iPad. It will be called Flight Control HD, and of course it'll make use of the bigger touchscreen, but like most developers, Firemint hasn't had an actual iPad dev device to work with -- they've only got the game running in the iPad SDK simulation. Peters said the iPad makes for a "very personal and very immersive experience," so they're hoping to take advantage of that with Flight Control HD -- they've even set up a Wacom tablet to test the larger control scheme out. And they're hoping the game comes out soon after the iPad's launch on April 3rd, so look for it then.
Other than that, Firemint also has two other games in development, still under wraps. The first will be coming out later this year, and the other one is definitely the biggest iPhone project they've ever done (we got the impression that it would be a larger, 3D action project) that will be out sometime in 2011. We asked them if those games were planned for the iPhone or the iPad, and they told us while they were currently working on both of them for the iPhone, "we'll have to wait and see" on the iPad.
All in all, Firemint seems to be a company that has really taken advantage of the opportunities in the App Store, and grown both their reputation and their repetoire thanks to Apple's platform. Flight Control and Real Racing have both been excellent examples of their "just a few good games" philosophy, and we can't wait to see what they do with other titles and the iPad.TUAWGDC 2010: Real Racing and Flight Control on the iPad with Firemint originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The iconic rock band Pink Floyd is suing its record label, EMI, over claims that it hasn't been properly paid royalties for songs sold through Apple's iTunes Store. Part of the band's complain stems from EMI offering individual tracks through the iTunes Store instead of full albums only

Shake the phone and the girl loses another item of clothing. Apple wants a German girlie publication to modify its striptease iPhone app so that the girl stays covered by a bikini. Publishers are angry. "Today they censor nipples, tomorrow editorial content," one said.

Google this morning added biking directions to Google Maps. The heavily requested feature navigates using not only bike trails but marks and uses roads that are known to be bike-friendly, including both those with bike lanes or those simply recommended for cyclists. Maps goes so far as to factor in hills and to avoid heavy car traffic....

SmileOnMyMac announced the immediate availability of TextExpander 3.0 for Mac Os X on Wednesday. The new version of the auto-expanding utility for abbreviations and text shortcuts added new search features for locating specific snippets along with a quick entry window for creating new snippets.

The number of touchscreen tablets running on ARM chips is set to explode even in 2010, the company's global mobile device ODM manager Roy Chen said today. While the iPad is the most conspicuous of these, Chen anticipates over 50 shipping in 2010. The first are due in the spring and will largely be attached to cellular carriers. There will be "a lot more" in the summer, the manager said....

Filed under: Cult of Mac
If you happen to have gotten caught up in the phenomenon known as the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, then you know that the computer of choice for these world-class computer genius hackers is made by Apple. I screened the film version of the story, and MacBook Pros are visible throughout as the the tool used to solve mysteries. It's a good film as well, as far as taut thrillers from Sweden go. In fact, I found it a refreshing take on the thriller (with a little social commentary thrown in) and was unsurprised to find it was based on a highly-regarded novel.
The lead character, Lisbeth Salander, actually uses her MacBook Pro to hack into all manner of places, just as Macs have managed to appear in all sorts of movies. There's even a Flickr group dedicated to chronicling the appearance of them in film and TV. If you got a kick out of Hackers back in the day, Lisbeth will be a little familiar, but she's a nice modern spin on the "cool hacker" type.
TUAW is part of a "blog hunt" for clues to win prizes for the movie, and you can find out more on the next page...
Join the Dragon Tattoo Blog HUNT -- an Internet-wide scavenger hunt tied to the feature film launch of the bestselling book The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Win great prizes: free movie tickets, books, the movie soundtrack, posters and more. To join the contest, start at the beginning of the HUNT by visiting the contest page for full details and the first clue. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is in theaters near you starting March 19th.
The next clue:
No 9 to 5'ing for this guy. Just like Lisbeth and Mikael, this renegade, Jonathan Fields, made his own way (he even wrote a book about it) and he helps people find the career that lets them do what they love to do.TUAW"Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" uses Macs to solve mysteries originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store
Tonight at GDC 2010, I went out and stopped by the Capcom Fight Club party here in San Francisco, and while there, Capcom projected the actual App Store interface for sending their Street Fighter IV app to the App Store on various screens around the room. We actually got to see them press the button on the release live and in person, and sure enough, the game is in the App Store right now for $9.99.
Before you go press buy, though, I'll also tell you that I got a chance to play the game, and while it is about as faithful a Street Fighter IV game as you can get on the iPhone, playing a fighting game without actual buttons is not really an ideal experience. While I was able to pull off a Hadoken and almost all of the other old moves after a few tries, the highest levels of competition in a fighting game require precision and subtlety, and this control scheme has neither of those. If you just want to play Street Fighter on an iPhone, sure -- be an early adopter, pick up the game, and enjoy a few rounds of Guile vs. Ryu. But if you're looking for the kind of in-depth fighting experience that Street Fighter IV on consoles and in the arcades offered, you probably won't find it here -- the controls are a little too inconsistent to really dig into the deep counter and powerup systems on display.
The game does have a lot of extras and addons, including a dojo mode for training and Bluetooth multiplayer. And while the game's eight characters offers up a pretty slim selection compared to the current console titles, these are definitely classic Capcom characters, and all of the old moves you'll remember still work. Save for the controls, nothing about this game is half-done -- it's definitely a premium port of a premium game. But as a true fighting game experience, this one comes up short. Buy it if you want, to see the spectacle of Street Fighter squeezed into Apple's touchscreen, an achievement in and of itself. But don't buy it expecting an ideal Capcom-style showdown that you'll be able to pull up time and time again -- for that, save your quarters for the arcades.
Stay tuned -- we did get to talk with the Japanese producer of the game about what he thinks of the iPhone, the iPad, and the challenges he had to overcome by squeezing this one on to Apple's handheld. That interview is coming up later today right here on TUAW.TUAWGDC 2010: Street Fighter IV for the iPhone out now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Following several teasers, Pentax has finally announced availability information and detailed specs for its upcoming 645D medium-format camera. The DSLR integrates a 40 megapixel sensor manufactured by Kodak, along with a SAFOX IX+ autofocus system providing 11 sensor points. Like many other Pentax cameras, the 645D features a semi-rugged body with 70 seals for resistance to dust, water and low temperatures....

Jumsoft has extended its collection of images for Apple's iWork software, releasing Pages Clipart 6.0. The number of images has doubled from its previous version, from 500 to 1000, and can be used for everything from illustrating presentations and web pages to creating news letters. All images are divided into twelve different categories and are available in PDF and PNG formats. Tools are also included for resizing and rotating each image....

The iPad, not due to ship for another three weeks, is getting its fair share of accessory launches, with several new cases from WaterField and Quirky. WaterField has announced the iPad Smart Case, a drop-in case which features multi-layered padding with a rigid insert and ultrasuede lining, along with a water-resistant exterior to help protect against damage. The case arrives with a low-profile pocket for a charger cable and comes in black, silver, red, brown green and blue. It is due to ship for $60 within one to three weeks of the iPad's initial availability....

Though the iPad has drawn some harsh reviews, it's hardly the first Apple product to get trashed (at first). A look back at 25 years of "flops"

TeamViewer GmbH has launched an iPhone app that allows users to remotely access the Finder view on a Mac. The screen-sharing app works in conjunction with the company's desktop software which provides a unique password. Entering the info into the iPhone app allows users to access the desktop interface via any Internet connection such as Wi-Fi, 3G or EDGE....

Macgamestore.com has launched Murder, She Wrote, a new game based on the classic television show. The hidden-object mystery game allows players to take control of the murder novelist Jessica Fletcher as she attempts to solve a variety of different homicides. The game features over 25 detailed 3D settings for players to travel through, along with familiar TV show characters Seth Hazlitt and Sheriff Mort Metzger....

Apple COO Tim Cook's warning from early 2009 wasn't the only one that handset makers received before Apple sicced the lawyers on HTC last week. According to a research note from Oppenheimer analyst Yal Reiner, Apple began warning top executives at companies such as HTC and Motorola in January that it wasn't too happy about seeing allegedly iPhone-related IP showing up in proposed new products.
According to "industry checks," Cook's comments last January during the quarterly analyst call—that Apple "will not stand for having our IP ripped off, and we'll use whatever weapons that we have at our disposal"—were taken seriously by the likes of LG, Samsung, and even Nokia. Though the Palm Pre openly flaunted multitouch capabilities (what most handset makers believed were at the heart of Cook's warning), its sales numbers haven't proven to be much of a concern for Apple so far.



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Filed under: App Store, iPad


The number of eBooks in the App Store has surpassed the number of games for the first time, and the spread is widening. Mobclix, a mobile device advertising agency, reports that as of last month, there were over 27,000 eBook apps while games were relegated to the runner-up position of 25,400 apps. Over the last reported month, new introductions of eBook apps more than doubled that of games (158 eBook versus 71 game apps).
There are a number of reasons being kicked around to explain this phenomenon. It's easier to churn out an eBook than a game app. There are more free eBook than gaming apps, since many of the eBooks are out-of-copyright classics or collections of free content; this lowers the cost of development. Once an eBook engine is built it's fairly trivial to use the framework for another book. Currently there are over 10 times more free eBook apps than paid ones. It's different in gaming where paid apps outstrip free ones by over 2 to 1.
These eBook apps will, of course, work on an iPad, but the Apple idea is to have you use one eBook reader and that would be iBooks. Jason Kincaid of Techcrunch, admittedly with no background evidence, posits that there may be an eBook purge coming. It would be very un-Apple to have an iPad owner searching for a copy of Treasure Island, and letting them find over 25 apps with differing interfaces and many of them free.
This could be confusing for new iPad owners, and more to the point, Apple can't monetize it. It doesn't sound unreasonable that Apple will do whatever it takes to make iBooks the eReader of choice at the expense of the plethora of current eBook apps. They will be doing it in the name of providing a simpler and more enjoyable user experience, but of course you can't pocket what you can't sell.
It will be fascinating to watch the eBook market about two months from now, after the first iPads have been delivered, and to see what Apple has planned.
[via The Guardian]

TUAWeBooks outnumber games in the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Microsoft's decision to drop the Zune HD from its XNA development kit may actually be hints at plans for its sequel, leaks indicated on Tuesday. Multiple sources toldZDNet that the follow-up touchscreen player will be "similar to an iPod touch," indicating a more general-purpose role than the media-heavy Zune HD. With Windows Phone 7 as the only known mobile OS supported by XNA 4.0, the shift implies that Microsoft may use a variant of its phone OS to drive the next Zune....

Autodesk on Tuesday announced Maya 2011, along with updates to its Mudbox and FDX utilities for Mac OS X. The latest version of Maya features a redesigned user-interface based on Nokia Qt, with simpler customization and dockable elements. The graphics core has been revamped to improve performance with complex scenes, while also enhancing the viewport feedback....

Verizon tonight was caught distributing a memo to retail staff encouraging them to sell to iPad customers. The note obtained by Engadget encourages floor workers to promote the idea of using a Wi-Fi only iPad with a Novatel MiFi router. Mixing the two would not only save the $130 premium on an iPad with built-in 3G but would help users get off of AT&T's "overloaded network with limited coverage," according to the memo....

Hello, Geeks. Look at your phone. Now back to mine. Now back at your phone. Now back to mine. Sadly, yours isnt from Apple, but if you stopped buying those girly phones from Sprint and Tmobile and...

Filed under: Internet, Internet ToolsEvery year there is a torrent made to let listeners download most of the music for SXSW. This year's torrent has recently been posted (previous years' are also available at the same site). I don't usually use Bittorent, so I asked around for client suggestions; Transmission seems to be a favorite among several of my TUAW colleagues.
I also remembered a tip from my friend Guillermo Esteves (who did the awesome Star Wars crawl using only HTML and CSS), about using Dropbox to start torrents remotely. Guillermo provides some detailed instructions for Transmission and µTorrent to set them up to "watch" a folder for new .torrent files, with an important caveat to make sure that you don't download the files to your Dropbox.
One additional Transmission tip: be sure that you un-check the box next to "Display 'adding transfer' options window" so that files will automatically be added, and be sure to check the box next to the "Start transfers when added" option. Guillermo shows both of those settings in his screenshots, but it took me a few minutes to figure out that I had them set incorrectly.
Then I asked myself: "How can I be even lazier?" and I remembered Hazel, a program for automatically moving files from one folder to another based on a set of predefined rules. So I added a Hazel rule for ~/Downloads/ which will move any file where "Kind is BitTorrent Document" to my ~/Dropbox/Torrents/ folder. I repeated this on both my iMac and my MacBook Pro. Now I can be on my MacBook Pro and download a torrent file to ~/Downloads/ and have it moved to my Torrents folder, and have the torrent automatically start downloading on my iMac. So when I'm done with my MacBook Pro I can just close it without having to worry about interrupting any of my downloads.
You may have noticed that we're big Dropbox fans around here. We use it for syncing Things or instead of a USB sync cable or keeping our notes with us or sharing screenshots, along with any number of other uses. Do you know of any other unusual uses for Dropbox? Let us know in the comments.
In the meantime, enjoy the free, legal music downloads from SXSW!TUAWAutomatically open Bittorrent files using Dropbox and Hazel originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

OWC has launched its OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini 1TB portable drive, which it claims is the first ever 2.5-inch 1TB drive shipped with a quad interface. The bus-powered drive has eSATA, USB 2.0, and FireWire 800/400 connectivity in a brushed aluminum, fanless enclosure. In addition to the new 1TB capcity, the drives are also available with 7200RPM 500GB drives and solid-state drives up to 200GB....

Former Sun CEO and president Jonathan Schwartz claims to have received a lawsuit threat several years ago from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. After Schwartz unveiled the prototype Linux desktop titled Project Looking Glass in 2003, Jobs allegedly called personally to notify Sun that its graphical effects were "stepping all over Apple's IP," according to Schwartz's personal blog....

The first rule of the iPhone developer program is: You do not talk about the iPhone developer program...

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer
Unity Technologies hosted the sponsored lunch panel during GDC 2010 today, and their "product evangelist" Tom Higgins gave a quick rundown of the software platform that enables developers to assemble and release games extremely quickly on multiple platforms.
The company was actually founded in Denmark, but has since expanded around the world with just two products: Unity Pro and Unity iPhone Pro. The second product, as you might imagine, allows developers to put together an application that can then be exported out into an Xcode project and released on the App Store. Higgins said that they've had over 90,000 people download the software since it was released for free last fall, and that more than 500 games in the App Store were authored by Unity.
He also ran a short demo of the software at the panel. While some of the coding got a little technical (the system allows you to create and change variables on in-game objects even while the game is running in the engine), the coolest feature was the way they simulated iPhone controls: by using a real iPhone as a remote. They've released a free app on the App Store that will connect via Wi-Fi with a copy of the development tool running on your Mac, and as you touch and turn the iPhone, the editor reacts, and sends the (slightly lower resolution) output to the iPhone's screen. You can also make changes to your code as the game runs in that mode, so you can be playing and coding at the same time.
That was pretty impressive. Of course, Unity won't actually help you be a game developer -- like many of the tools on display at the conference this week, it's a professional tool that can only make your ideas and art come to life, not actually create them for you.
But when you combine Unity's compatibility across platforms (there's even a web player that will play your Unity-created game on any web-compatible computer) with the ease of development (the app just outputs an Xcode project, so you can write an app in Javascript with the tool and output it straight to the App Store, or even edit the Xcode after the output if you want to take advantage of features that Unity doesn't support by default), it's definitely worth a look as an iPhone development tool. I'm not a developer, so I don't have much insight on how the program actually works, but just in terms of creating apps for multiple platforms at the same time ("author once, deploy anywhere," as Higgins said during his talk), Unity seems like a worthwhile solution.
The Unity platform is available as a free download, and the iPhone app either comes in source code with the rest of the platform, or can be downloaded straight from the App Store.TUAWGDC 2010: From concept to Top Paid with Unity iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sony touted an industry first today as its PSN video service became the first service to get HD movies from all six major studios. Besides its own Sony Pictures, the company's deal will allow buying and renting HD on the PlayStation 3 from Disney, Fox, Paramount, Universal and Warner. No price changes were mentioned as part of the additions, but the agreement is non-exclusive....

Autodesk on Tuesday unveiled at the Game Developers Conference the 2011 editions of Maya and its other 3D creation software aimed at animators, game developers, and others in creative field

Filed under: iPhone, App ReviewGoogle Voice on the iPhone has been something of a sore subject for me. If you need a full-recap of the whole sordid iPhone/Google Voice story see this story from December or more of our coverage. I even started a little site devoted to waiting for Google Voice on the iPhone called IsGoogleVoiceAvailableForTheiPhone.com.
It has been 6 months and 19 days since Apple claimed it had not "rejected" Google Voice but was "studying" it. During the course of Apple's "study" the company moved to purge all existing Google Voice apps from the App Store.
There were three reactions to this from developers:
Google revamped the Mobile Google Voice page so that it looks a lot nicer on the iPhone.
GV Mobile released its app for free on Cydia for those who have jailbroken iPhones.
The folks behind Voice Central went a different route. They decided to make a web app instead. I've been using it in beta for the past few months, but as of today it has been released to the public as Black Swan.
The difference between the Mobile Google Voice site from Google and Black Swan is that Black Swan is stored locally on your iPhone, like Pie Guy from Neven Mrgan of Panic.com. Riverturn calls this a "weblication," which is a fairly awful name, but apparently they aren't the first ones to use it.
An obvious benefit is that Riverturn doesn't need to wait for Apple to approve any changes, or wait for Apple to finish "studying" Google Voice. Simply go to the website and download it to your iPhone.
It works really well, much better than I had initially expected it would. You can easily access voicemails to listen to them or read the transcripts. The "Call Details" page offers a button to call or SMS them back either from your iPhone or through Google Voice. There's a list of recent calls just like the regular iPhone app. Without question Black Swan is the best way to use Google Voice on your iPhone. If you pre-loaded this on an iPhone, I doubt most people would even realize that they aren't using a "regular" iPhone app. It even works in landscape mode.
The only bump in the road for me was that it does not use the contacts list on my iPhone, but instead uses the one from my Google account. I presume this is necessary because they can't access the Contacts list through a "weblication" and the good news is that you can setup the Address Book in OS X to sync with Google Contacts. The only ones who lose out are those who are using Google Apps, as a regular Gmail account is required for Google Voice.
There are two versions of the app available: a free, ad-supported version and a premium edition for $10/year payable either through Google Checkout or PayPal. Currently they are offering a discounted price of $6/year.
In addition to removing the ads, the Premium version also adds some features including support for Contact Photos, enabling/disabling "Do Not Disturb" and direct customer support. My general rule of thumb for things like this is to use the free version first to see if you actually end up wishing you had the premium features. Personally I found the ads were distracting enough that $6 seems like a bargain, especially knowing that Apple can't yank the rug out from under them again. There is a 7-day trial of the premium version; just stick a reminder in iCal for +6 days from now to remind you to evaluate if it's worth $6.
Who knows, maybe in a year's time Apple will have finished "studying" Google Voice. Ha ha! But seriously, I don't really expect that will ever happen. The good news is that as of today, most people will miss a native application a lot less.
TUAWBlack Swan brings Google Voice back to the iPhone without the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Jonathan Schwartz, who was CEO of Sun Microsystems from 2006 until last month, on Tuesday published a blog post that leads off with: ?I feel for Google ? Steve Jobs threatened to sue me, too.? Why? In 2003, he unveiled Project Looking Glass, a prototype Linux desktop, and Mr. Jobs called to threaten a lawsuit because Sun was ?stepping all over Apple?s IP.?

Progressive rock band Pink Floyd on Tuesday sued its label EMI for allegedly breaking the terms of its contract through online sales. The complaint accuses EMI of knowingly "unbundling" the band's songs by letting those at iTunes and other online music stores buy some songs individually, against terms that insist all the content of an album be sold as one item....

The Associated Press on Tuesday said it has hired Nick Ascheim, who previously ran The New York Times? website, to oversee development of apps for the iPad and other mobile devices. The AP already offers a free app for the iPhone and it said it?s hoping to charge a fee for the iPad one, ?although it may be offered for free initially to help build an audience that would attract advertisers.

Filed under: Productivity, Software Update
Microsoft has just released updates to the 2004 and 2008 versions of Microsoft Office. According to the company, the updates, which weigh in at 9.7 MB and 221.5 MB respectively, provide "fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code" as well as improvements to stability and performance.
The update for Microsoft Office 2004 can be downloaded here, while those with the 2008 version can find it at this link.
As with most Mac OS X-related updates, whether from a third party app or a system update, you should consider backing up your data before proceeding.
Keep in mind, as you install this update, that right around the corner is Microsoft Office for Mac 2011. Notable updates for the next version of the suite for the Mac include the replacement of Entourage with Outlook, the return of VBA and, gasp (or hurrah!), a more ribbon-oriented user interface, à la the Windows version of Office. TUAWMicrosoft updates Office for Mac 2008 and 2004 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

UniPrint has launched UniPrint 7.0, intended for Mac network printing in server-centric physical or virtual desktop situations. It works in both 64- and 32-bit environments using a PDF-based universal printer driver, which in turn is designed for Citrix, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and other non-Windows host system servers. It allows administrators to manage a single universal print driver and, through the use of PDF conversion and compression, in theory save up to 90 percent of the network bandwidth consumed by other direct prin...

Samsung on Tuesday announced it will soon release the HW-C450 sound bar for simple home theater setups. The 2.1-channel system comes in black, while the HW-C451 will be available in silver. Apart from the color, the systems have an identical 280W power rating and sport Samsung's Touch of Color design. Their speakers are grill-less, and the subwoofer is wireless....

Filed under: Multimedia, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch, App ReviewI've always liked Slate Magazine on the web. It's sometimes sassy and irreverent, but always interesting -- an eclectic mix of politics, culture and tech news.
Now, Slate has come to the iPhone in a US$1.99 app that features all the articles from the site, as well as the blog posts, staff tweets and streaming video from the Slate podcasts. Once content is downloaded you can read it off-line, which is a worthwhile feature. Access to Slate on the web is free, and you can read Slate from any mobile browser by going to mobile.slate.com.
So why the charge for the iPhone app? Slate says it cost something to develop it, and it gives you a much richer experience in a portable form. I can't argue with that, but I can argue with the ads that appear absolutely everywhere. Even the splash screen popped up with an ad. I think that's a bit much after I've paid for the app, but I'm beginning to see a lot of this in other apps as well.
I do like the app a lot, and it is a better experience for me than reading Slate stories in Safari on the iPhone. I even prefer the app to reading the site on my desktop or laptop. I just think the constant intrusive ads are a turn-off that will keep some people from pulling the trigger on what is an otherwise laudable effort.
Slate works on any iPhone or iPod touch with OS 3.0 or greater. I expect we'll see an iPad version as well.
Full disclosure: In the dim, distant past I worked at the Washington Post Company, which owns Slate.
Take a gander at some screen shots below:
Gallery: Slate for iPhone screen shotsTUAWSlate comes to the iPhone, along with a lot of advertising originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple should be able to churn out approximately 5 million iPads in the first half of the year, claims FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger. The number is higher than what some analysts have said Apple will sell in all of 2010, and is based on a dismissal of claims that the company is experiencing production setbacks. "We believe various news articles and competitor notes calling for a build delay were just false alarms," says Berger. At least one report has suggested that the delay to April 3rd is based on software issues....

Hewlett-Packard has released a pair of videos touting its forthcoming Slate tablet, which it introduced in conjunction with Microsoft at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Both of them tout Slate?s ability to ?access the full web, not just a part of it,? as Adobe?s Alan Tam says in the video while demonstrating Flash and AIR, which lets Flash applications run outside of a browser.

Apparently the iTunes LP format was a concession from the iTunes DRM/price negotiations and not Apple's idea. This is why you're failing, music labels!

Read More:
GigaOM - Apple’s iTunes LP 6 Months Later: LP What?, - Ars Technica - A peek inside an iTunes LP file

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Filed under: Gaming, Software, Other Events, Developer, iPhone
The 2010 Game Developers Conference kicks off today in San Francisco, and TUAW is in attendance to check out the latest and greatest in iPhone game development. The conference boasts a whole track dedicated to iPhone gaming this year, and all week long, we'll be bringing you panels, news, and interviews straight from the conference floor. This morning, panel number one was from Stephen Detwiler and James Marr, two engineers at Ngmoco, to talk to developers about how they put the server software together for Eliminate, the "freemium" first person shooter that's serving as their flagship app lately.

tweetmeme_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/09/gdc-2010-ngmoco-explains-how-eliminate-pro-was-built/"
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As they explained during the presentation, they had a heck of a goal with this project: they wanted to put together "the definitive FPS for iPhone," complete with all of the functions of a standard console deathmatch-style FPS, in just five months with just three engineers. And they started with the toughest nut of all: the networking code.
They looked first at commercial solutions for game networking, and it turns out that the Quake 3 engine that they eventually used fit their ideas well. The toughest obstacle was of course the lag -- in a fast-paced game like Eliminate, even a delay of 200 milliseconds is too much. But it turns out that the way the Quake 3 engine handled dialup Internet back in the day is very similar to the way many developers are handling the slower speeds of mobile 3G. As the devs said, "a dialup connection from 1999 looks a lot like a 3G connection today."
In addition to the networking code, the Quake engine also gave them lots of other benefits during development, including graphics and lighting engines, a map editor, and an easy way to model animations in the game. The engineers said that using a commercial engine like Quake 3 allowed them to spend much more time on the out-of-game experience (the lobbies, the in-app purchases, and so on), and they really appreciated that.
The next big hurdles were player management and matchmaking. After considering a few different options, they went with an open-source messaging server called ejabberd -- while it's written in Erlang, a language that they said had some "crazy syntax" (they showed an inexplicable piece of code on the projection screen to make their point), it scaled very well and clustered the way they wanted it to.
Matchmaking was a little tougher -- they used console games by companies like Microsoft, Infinity Ward, and Blizzard as a model, and decided that they wanted to have players wait a max of about 10% of the time they spent playing. For console games, that turns out to be about a minute of waiting to make a game versus ten minutes of actual gameplay, but for Eliminate's shorter three minute games, Ngmoco decided they only had about fifteen seconds to make a match. Still, they were able to put a pretty robust system in the game even in that short time -- they assign players a number of various qualities (character skill, level, ping time, and so on), and then the matchmaking system searches for other game players, slowly expanding the limits on the search criteria.

In other words, when players first start searching, they'll be matched up with players of approximately the same skill, but as time goes on, that skill window grows. Fifteen seconds in, the skill differential could be up to ten times what it was when the search first started. Not all qualities "degrade" the same -- party size, for example, degrades much slower, so someone looking for four players won't get hooked up with just two or three for a while. And while the devs originally didn't include character level in matchmaking at all (they figured skill was a better match for players than actual level), a "HUGE outcry" by players made them include level in the process. Players really didn't like being connected with opponents who were at a much higher character level, even if the skill level was the same.
Ngmoco runs 16 different servers for each implementation of Eliminate: four for messaging with the clients, two for matchmaking, eight for what they call "game managers" (which are servers that run multiple game instances), and two management consoles that oversee the actual Ubuntu-based servers they're running, and update the 24 apt-get packages that make up the actual game software. Messaging servers are based in San Francisco with the company, but game servers are co-located around the world, in Chicago, Virginia, Amsterdam and Tokyo. Unfortunately, they didn't mention how many people are actually playing, but the servers were tested for up to 30,000 users just for messaging and 50,000 for matchmaking -- Ngmoco actually made a headless version of the game for OS X, installed it on "all of the hardware" in their offices, and ran it like crazy to load-test their software.
It was a pretty interesting talk -- very much on the technical side, but Ngmoco set out to create a competitive online FPS on the iPhone and that's what they did. It was cool to hear some behind-the-scenes details on how a very complicated iPhone gaming network is designed and run.
We'll have more from GDC 2010 all this week, including hands-on of the latest games from Ngmoco and lots of other game developers. Stay tuned!TUAWGDC 2010: Ngmoco explains how Eliminate Pro was built originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple could have the bestselling e-book reader of all time in just three months on the market, according to an estimate from FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger. He believes that talk of hardware-related delays from competing analyst groups were just "false alarms" and that that Apple is purportedly set to ship 5 million iPads just in the first half of 2010. At this rate, the tablet would push past Amazon's unofficial lifetime record of 3 million Kindles in just the three-month span between early April and the end of June....

The EFF has published the iPhone developer agreement. Many of the stipulations are not new to most of us, but the EFF offers a number of criticisms on the agreement's limitations.

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Filed under: iTS, Retail, iTunes, Apple
This feature over at GigaOM has quite a few interesting insights about the iTunes LP program -- while Apple sells it wholeheartedly as "the visual experience of the record album," it appears the story behind the story is not quite so clean. According to an anonymous source in the industry (note, not Apple themselves), the service didn't come from Cupertino. Instead, it was designed by record companies, and agreed to by Apple as a "concession" to "make a gesture in favor of album sales." The piece also states that Apple subsidized the creation of the first few "LPs," some of which cost up to $60,000 to assemble and license.
As you might expect with any other less-than-popular product at Apple, iTunes LP isn't exactly being thrown into the spotlight, either. While a much more visual music experience would be perfect for the iPad, GigaOM notes that it didn't even merit a mention by Jobs at the iPad announcement. It's certainly possible that iTunes LP could find a new home in the future, if bands really get behind the service and make their own (a few have, as noted, but the cost seems pretty prohibitive, especially if sales aren't that impressive), but from what this anonymous source says, the LP service is a record company concession that hasn't paid off for Apple even in the way its originators hoped.
[via iPodNN]TUAWReport: RIAA pressured Apple into creating iTunes LP originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple subsidiary FileMaker has released version 11 of its flagship FileMaker Pro database. The updated software purports to make building and maintaining databases even easier, while acknowledging that many users are accustomed to using spreadsheets for database purposes by including pivot table-like reporting and Excel-like charting features. FileMaker Pro Server has also been updated, dropping the simultaneous client access limit for the Advanced version.
FileMaker Pro already laid claim to being one of the easiest cross-platform database tools available, but the company added additional features designed to enhance that ease of use. The Quick Start screen has been improved, offering clear ways to begin a new database. You can start from scratch; import existing data in tab or comma-separated files, Excel spreadsheets, or Bento databases; or choose from a number of Starter Solution templates. A new invoicing template has been added in version 11 to make that common business task practically a plug-and-chug operation; customer data can later be linked for other purposes.



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Apple has released a fourth beta of the iPhone 3.2 SDK, available through the company's developer portal. Little information has yet leaked out due to Apple confidentiality restrictions, but it is known to be build 10M2144, and a 2.5GB download. Mac OS X 10.6.2 is required to run the software....

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App StoreNamco is bringing the popular Tekken franchise to the iPhone. It's not confirmed whether it's a port of the original game -- released back in 1994 in arcades, then on the PlayStation -- or the current Tekken 6.
This comes a few weeks after Capcom announced the release of Street Fighter IV for the iPhone, leading to an eventual fighter game showdown in the App Store. While both games on the iPhone is pretty awesome, I'm waiting to see how they will look and play on the iPad. I also wouldn't mind seeing even more Namco titles on the iPhone - especially selections from the Tales RPG franchise.
Namco has a number of games in the store, including classics like Galaga, which was "remixed" for the iPhone, Burger Time Deluxe, which graced arcades way back in 1982!
Here's hoping for old-school Tekken.
[Via Gizmodo]TUAWTekken bound for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has posted the full text of Apple?s previously-secretive iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request after NASA released an app. The EFF found the document so draconian that it ran the news under the headline ?All Your Apps Are Belong to Us.?

Alchemist Guild has launched a new backup application for the Mac, Warehouse 1.0. The tool is built on Unix utilities and relies on a single-window interface for backing up files, whether to external hard drives, USB memory sticks or other Macs on a network. Any number of assigned tasks can be set, with options source folders, destination locations and up to four different backup modes....

Source R&D has announced the upcoming release of its Warpia Easy Dock, which lets users access the processing power of their notebooks via a desktop interface. The dock relies on Wisair's Wireless USB and includes a dongle that plugs into the notebook as well as a receiver that connects to a display, mouse, keyboard and speakers. The image from the notebook, along with peripheral data automatically transmitted to the desktop setup from up to 30 feet away, with resolutions as high as 1400x1050....

Filed under: Developer, iPhoneIn a step towards transparency, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has made the entire iPhone Developer Program License Agreement available for the general public. This is the document that all iPhone developers must agree to when they become part of the iPhone developer program.
As EFF points out, public copies of the license agreement are pretty scarce thanks to developers being locked under a non-disclosure agreement as part of the contract. EFF used the Freedom of Information Act to get its copy from NASA, which is the version from approximately a year ago (Rev. 3-17-09). The agreement has been updated since then.
The EFF characterizes the agreement as "a very one-sided contract, favoring Apple at every turn," and that's not an overstatement. Some of the clauses and conditions in the Apple developer agreement do smack of "our field, our ball, our rules" thinking from Cupertino. Highlights from the 28-page document include:
A ban prohibiting developers from making public statements about the license agreement; however the contract itself is not considered "Apple Confidential Information."
Apps developed from Apple's SDK are only allowed to be sold through the App Store. You can't push it anywhere else (Cydia, etc.), even if Apple has rejected the app for any reason.
Developers are forbidden to tinker with any Apple products, not just the iPhone. This includes jailbreaking.
Apple is not liable for more than $50 in damages in case something happens on their end to your app. This is laughable, and I'm honestly surprised that Apple has not had a legal challenge over this yet.
Devices used for testing purposes could be locked into a "testing mode," and may not be able to be restored to their original condition. That is one way to brick your device.
I discussed the EFF's post with Mike Rose, and he offered some editorial comment; read on for more.
Mike's Op-Ed Soapbox Dept.
To get a sense of where the EFF is coming from, it's worth taking a moment to review the first sentence of Fred von Lohmann's post: "The entire family of devices built on the iPhone OS (iPhone, iPod Touch [sic], iPad) have been designed to run only software that is approved by Apple -- a major shift from the norms of the personal computer market." While that's a snappy lead, it's not technically accurate; all three of the devices are designed to run any compiled & signed application for the platform, and all developers may distribute ad-hoc builds of their apps to a limited number of users without Apple knowing or caring; enterprise developers (who pay $299 for the privilege) can distribute unapproved apps much more widely.
The point von Lohmann is aiming for is that the iPhone OS ecosystem and application distribution channel is almost entirely controlled by Apple; that's obvious and clear. While it's certainly "a shift from the norms of the PC market," it's far less alien to the norms of the cellphone and consumer electronics market, and none of the devices in question is a personal computer in the traditional sense of the term -- not even the iPad. There doesn't seem to be a similar degree of campaigning for openness around the Xbox Live or Wii online marketplaces, for example.
Although developers aren't supposed to talk about the program agreement, I'm sure we will be seeing and hearing quite a bit of public comment around it now that EFF has lifted the veil. The EFF post concludes with a call for developers to demand better terms and for users to support them; while it's unlikely that Apple is going to shift on this, some public feedback from prominent developers might make some difference.TUAWEFF releases iPhone developer license agreement originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

If the preference is set, our desktop shows us the names of all our mounted volumes. Lurking beneath the surface, however, some of those volumes can take on a strange setof numbered suffixes. It isn't a problem until another piece of software, say, a backup program sees these suffixes and causes confusion for both it and the user. Fortunately, these suffixes can be dealt with.

Google and Dish Network are teaming up to create a set-top box that will use the former?s Android operating system, but the Wall Street Journal piece announcing the development is thin on details, simply citing anonymous sources who said the new technology ?allows users to find shows on the satellite-TV service as well as video from Web sites like Google's YouTube. It also lets users to personalize a lineup of shows."

It's not official yet, but an insider claims that Tekken is coming to the iPhone OS. Time to re-live the '90s!

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PocketGamer

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Dell today provided an official explanation for the disappearance of the Adamo XPS from most of its online stores. The Texas PC builder in a statement now argues that the ultraportable is actually "similar to a limited edition" and was never designed to be a long-term product. It was an "engineering marvel" meant to show what Dell could do and is simply nearing the end of its run, the company claimed....

Microsoft has released updates to its Mac software, Entourage and Office 2008. Office v12.2.4 offers several improvements to overall stability and performance. The company has also included a number of fixes that address security vulnerabilities, helping to prevent an attacker from overwriting the computer's memory using malicious code....