There have been at least 2 major announcement for new USB 3.0 keys with data transfer speed reaching 100 MB/S and even more up to 300 MB/s
According to representative from Patriot, there are many difficulties for developing USB 3.0 storage keys, similar to the one we all have in our pockets or bags. The main reason is the USB 3.0 controller, a small component that is warming too much for such a small factor device. In order to reduce the amount of heat released, some manufacturers decided to underclock the controller, then add a second controller in order to create a RAID 0 volume to offer expected performance levels without the associated warming effect.
But it seems to be a temporary solution, as having 2 controllers also increase the price of such device. Patriot wants to use the enclosure as a heatsink to offer the native performance levels of USB 3.0. Another option could simply be to wait for USB 3.0 to really kick off, and Intel and Microsoft decided to delay its full adoption/implementation to 2011. At that time we might have controllers with a thinner engraving allowing to better controller heat release.

Filed under: Hardware, Retail, iPadYes, that's 10pm Eastern DAYLIGHT Time, hopefully by now you've worked out exactly what time it is where you are so you can show up on time instead of coming in at the end. (Thanks, cell phone with automatically updated clock!) Tonight's show will also include the debut of a TUAW contest! What contest? Tune in to find out! While you're there I'm sure we can find some other Apple news to discuss this evening. I'm sure if we look really hard there is some interesting tidbit out there for all of us to chat about...
Unlike those recordings try to convince you, your call really IS important to us. Without the audience, we are just talking to ourselves and what fun would that be? To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (take advantage of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Gizmo or X-Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk with you then!TUAWTalkcast Reminder: Tonight at 10pm EDT, now with contests! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cindori who was already the author of ATI Flashing Tool, just announced the release of Zeus, a universal GPU flashing tool.
This application is a real swiss army knife for our graphic cards, as you can modify the firmware or easily adapt a PC card on your Mac Pro:
Compatible with most ATI and NVIDIA graphic cards
Able to recover from his server the right version of patched QuickTime extensions required for some exotic graphic cards (not supported by Apple).
Safer flashing procedure.
Bug with injector fixed.
For additional information: http://groths.orgTo download: http://groths.org/zeus/zeus.zip

On the Beats by Dre Solo box, Monster is keen to drum in a quote by Dr. Dre saying that "people arenít hearing all the music" -- that typical headphones are giving up details, and Dre feels it his mission to get those details back. That he largely achieved that goal with the high end models is generally accepted, but how does the Beats line fare with a middle of the road offering? Are listeners really missing details in their music with other headphones? Our Beats Solo review finds out....

Filed under: Features, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAWWelcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we have questions about replacing a MacBook hard drive, refreshing a NFS mount, getting a simple clock on screen, improving iCal's note handling, and more.
As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.
Felix asks
I'm a iMac user in search for a USB hub and a FireWire hub with a Mac-like design. Sure there are several of them (especially USB hubs) that have a Macish look but then theres the thing about performance. Some years ago I bought a USB2.0 hub just to find that some of the ports feel much slower than others and that sometimes my iPod (now my iPhone) just don't get recharged at all when connected to the hub. So my question is, what do you think are the most Mac-like looking and well performing USB and FireWire hubs available?
Here are a couple of combo hubs you might be interested in from Belkin and IOGEAR. The Belkin hub does not feature its own power supply (apparently it draws more current from the FireWire port), whereas the IOGEAR does have an independent power supply, so if you're concerned about power you might want to go in that direction. In general if you want particularly "Macish" hubs, I'd recommend searching for ones made for the Mac mini (there are quite a few out there).
Derek asks
I recently replaced the LCD in my aged Powerbook 15" 1.33 (A1095). When it arrived on my doorstep there was a plastic film applied on the face to protect it during shipping. I've always had a problem with the LCD on this Powerbook (and my old G3 Wallstreet, for that matter) touching the keyboard when the lid is shut, thusly leaving permanent marks on the face of the display. So, I left the film on the replacement LCD, and it has worked very well to protect the new screen. However, it's starting to peel and bubble on one edge and I'd like to replace it. Does anyone make screen protectors such as the variety of stick-on protectors for iPod Touch/iPhones in sizes for laptop screens? I have considered hitting the local megamart and just getting several to piece together, but I think the seams would be more annoying than the bubbling.
There are several different film screen protectors available, such as this Crystal Screen Guard at Amazon. The biggest problem is finding one that will exactly fit your PowerBook, since most everything sold today is made for the MacBook Pro line. I think that the PowerBook actually had a 15.2" screen, rather than the 15.4" screen on the MacBook Pro. So I'm guessing you'd have to trim down a MacBook Pro Screen Guard to fit your PowerBook.
SMartenup asks
I would like to find a way to save all of my open programs / documents, and then restore to that same set of programs & documents. Is there any way to do this?
OS X does have a feature called Safe Sleep, which is much like the hibernation features on other operating systems. When invoked it saves the state of your Mac to the hard drive and then actually shuts the computer off. When you restart the machine, it will be restored to the state that was saved. There's a handy Preference Pane app called SmartSleep that will allow you to invoke Safe Sleep automatically.
I get the sense, however, that what you want is something analogous to session saving a web browser's tabs, but for all your open documents. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of anything that does quite what you want.
ooglek asks
I have a 250GB SimpleTech SimpleShare NAS. I've had it for about 3 years, and it works well enough. Now on Snow Leopard both my 2008 Mac Pro and my 2006 Macbook Pro can access the NAS via NFS Automount setup in the Disk Utility (new for Snow Leopard). My problem is that when I take my laptop out of my home office, when I come back, I have no way to "refresh" or reconnect to the NFS mount. I'm not sure if it is hung (used to have to kill nfsd in Leopard), awaiting some user action or just not set up right.
I don't have much experience with NFS mounts, but if I'm understanding the problem correctly you need to flush the cache with the sudo automount -vc command. That should cause it to essentially "refresh." Check out this thread over at Apple Discussions.
vulgo asks
I am a long time Mac user and as far as I can think back I was using Microsofts Entourage as a calendar and before that Outlook for Mac. Since I got my iPhone 2 years ago I always wanted to migrate to iCal to use that as my main calendar application because of synching reasons. Unfortunately iCal is in my opinion a bad solution. It sure does allow notes in the notes field but there is no way to work properly with lots of text in the notes field like you can easily do in Entourage. You cannot just drag the corner of the window and make it bigger to get a good overview about what you write or copy/paste there. The column is and stays just too small. Do you have any idea for a good solution to make iCal fulfill the task of a proper note field without moving to another software?
I know you asked for a solution that involves iCal, but I don't really think there is one. I completely agree with you that the iCal notes interface is terrible, but I'm not aware of any way to make it work better. However, if you are willing to drop a little coin, you should check out BusyCal ($49), which offers iCal / MobileMe / iPhone compatibility and superior better features, including a much more robust notes field (especially in List View).
David asks
I desperately need a bigger drive for my MacBook. Everyone says it's pretty easy to replace, I just need to buy a 2.5" SATA drive. But I'm so afraid of buying the wrong drive that I can't make a purchase. Here's why: Some folks have strongly recommend not using a drive that is larger than 250GB, and/or faster then SATA 150, 5400RPM. And most of the drives available out there are at least 320GB and often SATA 300 and 7200RPM. Am I being too conservative in my desire to stick to the recommended guidelines? Should I just stop worrying and buy a bigger/faster drive? If I understand the articles, I could/should be safe with a bigger drive as long as I don't use more than 250GB of the drive? I'm nervous enough about replacing my drive so any advice you have would be much appreciated.
Frankly, I don't really understand why anybody would tell you that you have to be limited to 250GB. I am aware of no reason whatsoever that you would need to limit yourself to a drive that small. You should be able to install any 2.5" SATA drive you like, including SATA 2 (SATA 300) / 7200 RPM drives. One thing to consider is that faster 7200 RPM drives will be more power hungry, thus reducing your battery life and increasing heat (your MacBook likely shipped with a 4200 RPM drive, so a 5400 RPM drive might be a good compromise). If you're particularly paranoid you could get a Mac-specific upgrade kit, like those from MCE Tech or OWC, but you don't really need to do that. One nice thing about some of these kits is that they include an external enclosure allowing you to continue to use the old drive as an external hard drive.
No matter which drive you end up with, it's a good idea to get an external enclosure, or at least a USB to SATA adapter (like this one). That way, as soon as you get it you can use Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! ($27.95) to clone your existing drive to the new drive. Then install the new drive into the computer and you should be able to start right back up where you left off without reinstalling anything. Good luck!
Brent asks
I am running dual monitors with my macbook and I don't need a menu bar on both, but I would like a clock running on the second screen. What is the best thing I could use?
There are a gajillion little clock apps available for OS X. Check out this search at MacUpdate for a sense of what's out there. You'll probably have to churn through a few of them until you find one that fits your style. If you want a place to start, check out SimpleFloatingClock.
David asks
For the upcoming iPad my wife and I are planning on sharing one. Our question is about the email. Is there a way to switch users so to our email is not available to the other. I don't see any way of doing that on the iphone, but we don't share them.
Obviously we don't know for sure yet, but everything so far indicates that the iPad will function more or less like the iPhone. That being the case, just as the iPhone doesn't support multiple users, I consider it extremely unlikely that the iPad will either.TUAWAsk TUAW: Clocks, screen guards, MacBook hard drive replacement, NFS automount, and more originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The company behind the Web browser Opera is weeks away from submitting it to Apple's iPhone store for approval, a spokesman said Friday. The result, according to the Norwegian company, would be a browser up to six times faster than the iPhone's default Web tool, Safari. The open question is is whether Apple will approve the application.

As promised, Sony on Saturday launched its first flagship retail store. The two-storey Sony Store Nagoya showcases most of Sony's home lineup and is built to emulate the success Apple has had with stores like its Ginza location. Besides bright, open areas, it includes a designer (though not glass) staircase and even a Genius Bar-style service, nicknamed backStage, for getting technical support and training....

Apple had a chance to own mobile advertising company AdMob for $600 million, but blew it, the New York Times reports.

iPad mania has hit since Apple's answer to the tablet became available for pre-order on Friday morning. We already mentioned with glee that the mute switch has been transformed into an orientation lock. Now, sales estimates suggest that virtual iPads are flying off virtual shelves as fast as Apple fans can click "Buy Now," and a number of details are surfacing about iBooks, 3G data services, and more.
Of course, Apple hasn't made any official announcements about sales numbers, but that hasn't stopped clever buyers with a Google spreadsheet from estimating how many iPads Apple is selling. Using order numbers matched up to the time of order, estimates range from about 20,000 to 25,000 iPads sold per hour in the hours after Apple raised the curtain. Assuming the majority of sales are the $499 entry-level model, Apple could be grossing about $10 million per hour. If this rate keeps up, it's possible Apple will sell through its first batch of iPads (set to ship April 3) this weekend.



Read the comments on this post

The competition between Apple and Google has reached "incendiary" levels that aren't likely to cool down anytime soon, a detailed story from within the two companies has shown. While signs of the split have become increasingly public, a Bay Area investor claims that the two sides, particularly Apple, are getting "emotional" as it becomes a personal battle between Apple CEO Steve Jobs and his Google equivalent, Eric Schmidt. At Apple, Jobs' infamous attack on Google at a post-iPad town hall has been followed by repeated shots at Android in d...

Virtualization is becoming a bigger factor in everyone?s computer experience. One place it seems to be gaining popularity is a Windows client running on a Mac. This arrangement allows a Mac OS X user to have access to the huge Windows library of titles. So, it does make sense for a Mac user to at least consider virtualization as a practical tool.

A discovery in Apple's iPad Battery Replacement Service has confirmed that the company will address iPad battery issues aggressively. Rather than attempt to replace the battery if it loses an adequate charge, as it does with iPhones, the company will charge $99 but replace the tablet altogether with a new model. Those who have to ship the iPad instead of visiting a store with stock on hand will also pay a $7 shipping fee and should expect it to be completed within a week....

As St. Patrick's Day draws near, Apple fans are counting themselves among the lucky. After all, Steam is finally coming to the Mac, the iPad finally has a ship date, and the iPad developer program now has a much lower barrier to entry. Read on for the top Apple news from the last week:
HTC lawsuit came after warning by Apple to handset makers: Apple supposedly contacted executives at "tier-1" handset makers in January saying it was ready to go to the mat over its iPhone-related IP. Those warnings, coupled with Apple's complaints against HTC, may have a chilling effect on smartphone makers for the indefinite future.
Valve: full "Steam" ahead on Mac OS X with free syncing: Valve is bringing its online service to the Mac in April and plans to make its Source engine cross-platform. Along with the new cross-platform strategy, Portal 2 will be the first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows.



Read the comments on this post

One of the biggest complaints surrounding Apple's iPhone OS is the lack of multitasking support, and it's a valid one. But if the latest rumor proves to be true, critics will soon be silenced, or at least redirect their disgust squarely on the lack of Flash integration.

Filed under: Multimedia, Internet Tools, iTunes, iPhone, MusicThe problem is, we just don't know where they're going. In a Saturday blog post, the company announced it is "...taking a new direction" and won't be offering their current apps to new users.
SimplifyMedia has been offering free software for computer-to-computer and iPhone-to-computer music sharing over the internet. Using the iPhone app, you could connect to your computer at home and stream albums, playlists or songs without any complicated firewall setups. A newer version of the software also allowed remote access to your iPhoto library.
It also looks like the company is going to slowly sunset current customer accounts but will continue to keep them functioning for at least another 3 months.
The Simplify iPhone app has been removed from the App Store, and the company says new account creation will be disabled soon.
I don't have any idea where the company is headed, but the current product will be missed. SimplifyMedia was offered for Mac, PC and Ubuntu.
[Thanks to Robert for the tip]TUAWBoo Hoo! SimplifyMedia dropping products and changing direction originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple may have moved nearly 120,000 iPads in just its first day of pre-orders, an estimate by private analysts at the AAPL Sanity board suggests. After excluding the 16,500 average orders on a given day, the collective has used the intervals between order numbers over 19.5 hours to estimate that about 119,987 iPads should have sold during that period. The statistic doesn't include those who simply reserved a unit in-store and potentially puts the actual launch day tally considerably higher....

Reports from this week's Game Developers Conference make one thing clear: Games on mobile phones are not just a niche category anymore.

If youíre looking for a quick and easy wireless camera system for checking whoís at your front door, monitoring your pets while youíre at work or checking up on your napping baby, Avaak believes it has an inexpensive option. The company's Vue Personal Video Network system, made up of a couple of small wireless cameras and a wireless base station, promises to simplify the experience of keeping track of others. But while it's easy to set up, we'll find out in our full Vue PVN review if it's also a pleasure to use....

Vern peeps out EveryTrail, The Amateur Traveler Podcast, French 24/7 Tutor and much more this week in Free on iTunes.

Filed under: Gaming, Software
I've been working like crazy for TUAW here at GDC 2010 (and there's a lot more coverage yet to come), but I did take a little time for myself this afternoon and go see the demo that Firaxis is showing off here of this fall's Civilization V. The latest and greatest Civ is quite different from the past iterations. As you can see in the above photo, the squares have become hexes for the first time ever, units will no longer stack (I know!), and culture will grow only as you pay gold to grow it, one hex at a time. Even though I really only went to see this game because I'm such a huge fan, I did get to ask one question for you: when is this game coming out on the Mac?
The rep was noncommittal, as you might expect, but he did say that every single previous version of Civilization has eventually come to the Mac, and that Civ V would probably not be an exception. He didn't have a timeline, but given the recent arrivals in the world of Mac gaming, I'd guess that it'll be sooner rather than later. The game's not due out until fall on PC, but I'll keep an eye out for it. Here's hoping that Valve's big announcement will encourage other great game companies to hit our platform as early as they can.TUAWGDC 2010: Civilization V probably Mac-bound (eventually) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The FCC's promised national broadband plan should have its formal unveiling on Tuesday, an early scoop of the details claimed on Saturday. Over the next 10 years, the agency would subsidize broadband Internet access for rural areas, creating a combination Internet and cable set-top box, and a previously hinted at plan to relicense as much as 500MHz of spectrum for wireless Internet access. Speed would be a critical focus as well, as the 100 Squared plan woube part of the proposal and promise 100Mbps Internet access to 100 million homes....

Filed under: Retail, Rumors, iPad
Apple Store Sydney by Shaondiwakar - Flickr
In the wake of yesterday's iPad sales estimates of 50K in the first couple of hours (now revised by Silicon Alley Insider and Apple 2.0 to about 91,000 in the first six hours), we have an unconfirmed but plausible number from inside the retail stores. According to our source, the in-store pickup reservation count differential between the start of the day and closing time was about 41,000; that represents reservations for the WiFi iPad only.

tweetmeme_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/13/rumor-ipad-in-store-reservations-may-be-over-40-000/"
tweetmeme_source = "tuaw"

If you've got a pickup reservation and you happen to know your ID number for it -- and you made your reservation either at the very beginning of the day yesterday, or at the very end of the day -- let us know in the comments and we'll start doing some arithmetic. We'll also try to cross-confirm this number with other little birdies from the retail front.
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaondiwakar/ / CC BY-SA 2.0TUAWRumor: iPad in-store reservations may be over 40,000 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, iPhoneIf your iPhone backups and restores are taking a ridiculously long time, Apple suggests you take a quick peek at your Camera Roll.
In a new Knowledge Base entry, Apple reminds users that photos are backed up each time you do a sync, even if there are no changes to the Camera Roll. The result can be a sluggish backup or restore.
If you already have the photos copied into iPhoto, you're good to erase them from the Camera Roll. Apple has some advice for getting the pictures back to your iPhone if you need to:
1. Ensure the iPhone is connected to your computer.
2. Open iTunes.
3. Select the iPhone in the Devices list in the left column.
4. Click the Photos tab.
5. Ensure that "Sync photos from" is enabled and choose the appropriate source from the adjacent pop-up menu. For example, if you imported your photos into an application (like iPhoto), you would select that application in the list. If you imported your photos to a folder (using Image Capture, Scanner and Camera Wizard, or Windows Photo Gallery), you would select Choose Folder and then the folder in question.
6. Click Apply or Sync.
The article details procedures for Macs, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.
There are other things that can slow down backups. I've seen them be very slow one day and quite snappy the next. Explanations can sometimes be hard to come by, but regular backups will keep the times down. Also, if you've added a lot of new apps, your first backup after adding them can be pretty long.
For more details on the issues with a full Camera Roll check the Knowledge Base article, and don't let those photos on your phone get out of control.TUAWiPhone backups a bit slow? Dump those images originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple's recent purge of sex-tinged iPhone apps, combined with its lesser-known ban of cookie-cutter apps, signifies the company's new focus on quality,rather than quantity, in its App Store.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple's Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook, received a bonus worth $22 million for his work filling in for Steve Jobs' during the CEO's 2009 medical leave.

The iPad officially became available for pre-order earlier today and while plenty of you are still debating about whether or not to pre-order, it appears as if the device might already sold 51,000 units in just two hours via pre-order. Wow.

AT&T will still implement 21Mbps 3G on its network on its way to 4G, the company's Mobility chief Ralph de la Vega said in an interview late Thursday. The provider had late last year said it would skip HSPA+ to make a more direct leap, but de la Vega now sees the advanced 3G reaching "certain locations" before 4G becomes widespread. He didn't yet have information for FierceWireless as to which areas would get the faster treatment....

Apple in a just-published SEC filing has revealed that its chief operating officer, Tim Cook, was paid about $22 million in bonuses for acting as CEO during Steve Jobs' medical leave last year. The payouts included both a $5 million immediate bonus as well as 75,000 units of restricted stock, which at the time issued were worth about $17 million. Both reflect the "outstanding performance" in taking Apple's helm, the filing reads....

Filed under: iPadIt seems that a lot of Apple-related events happen while I'm on cruise ships. Back in 1998, for example, I was aboard a cruise ship when I read the headline that Apple had decided to drop the Newton MessagePad. Before we went on this trip, I knew that Apple would start taking iPad pre-orders and reservations on March 12, so I expected that I'd just be able to pull up the Apple website early in the morning, pop in my reservation, and then go on with my vacation. Little did I know that it was going to take me until 4 PM local time (3 PM ET) on March 12th to get my reservation into the system.
Just before I went to sleep the evening of March 11th, I saw a post here on TUAW that outlined when the Apple Online Store would open for pre-orders and reservations. Doing a quick time calculation in my head, I determined that I'd be able to pop in at 9:30 AM local time and make my order... no, wait a second. At 8:30 AM, I was going to be taking a ship's tender over to shore. Dang.
We were scheduled for the proverbial "three hour tour" in this beautiful tropical location, so I decided to be patient and wait until I got back to the ship at about 11:30 AM local time. Of course, when we were on the other side of the Samana peninsula at 12 PM local time and still hadn't left, I realized that I was going to really have to put the order on hold for a while.
The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed... well, at least the tender going back to the ship was getting bounced around pretty good. We finally headed back towards the ship when they announced that we'd have to go to Cayo Levantado, a small resort island in the midst of the bay, to transfer to a larger tender before returning to the ship.
Eventually, at about 2 PM, we were back aboard the ship and I was ready to run to our stateroom, fire up the MacBook Air, and make my order. However, "she who must be obeyed" was starving (as was I), so we stopped at the ship's poolside grill for a quick bite to eat. Everyone else who had been on a shore excursion was thinking the same thing, so the line for a quick bite was moving slowly.
Finally, after talking with some fellow passengers, having a beer, and finishing our lunch, we made our way down to the stateroom where I fired up the computer, hooked into the horribly expensive and ridiculously slow shipboard Wi-Fi, and started the reservation process at about 3:15 PM local time.
How expensive? Can you say US$0.60 per minute? Of course you can! How slow? I think the 300-baud modem that I had with my original Commodore VIC-20 was faster! The total reservation process, which would probably take about 5 minutes on my office Internet connection, took about 45 minutes to complete. Thank God we had a bottle of wine to open and drink while waiting....
Well, all is done and I've reserved a 64GB iPad for pickup on April 3rd. I'll also have some great and funny memories of this day every time I turn on that iPad.TUAWChecking in from Samana Bay, Dominican Republic, aboard the M/S Regatta originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Benedict Lowndes has a WindowFlow beta for Mac OS X. The software allows users to organize their workspace with a series of keyboard commands for moving, resizing, and aligning application windows. A tiling function enables users to select a group of windows to fill the screen in a selected tile layout. The beta release is available as a free 14-day trial, or users may opt to purchase the standard or pro versions at a discounted price of $8 or $12, respectively. Following the final release, the price will rise to $12 for the standard version and $22 for the Pro versi...

Filed under: MobileMeMany folks were excited when Apple announced Back to My Mac as part of MobileMe. Being able to remotely access your Mac from anywhere sounded like magic. We're used to products from Apple that "just work" but for most people most of the time, Back to My Mac "just doesn't."
To maximize your chances, you're supposed to use a supported router, but even that's no guarantee. At home I have an Airport Extreme Base Station (Wireless-N), and at the office I have an Airport Extreme Dual-Band model. I don't think it's possible to get a "more compliant" setup, yet I still can't get it to work most of the time.
Under the adage "nothing ventured, nothing gained," I took a chance and signed up for a free account with DynDNS. DynDNS gives you a free hostname which will go to your computer even when your IP address changes. There are scads of DynDNS domain names available, but for the purposes of this example, let's assume that your domain name is imac.homeip.net.
After you've signed up for your free account and chosen a hostname, download and install the DynDNS Updater for Mac and install it on the machine you want to access via Back to My Mac. (If you want to do this for more than one computer, you will need a different DynDNS hostname for each computer. You can get up to five at no cost.)
Once you have it running, make sure that it has updated, and then switch to your other Mac. You could launch Screen Sharing.app directly from /System/Library/CoreServices, but a much better suggestion is to install the free ScreenSharingMenulet which will sit in your menu bar. ScreenSharingMenulet will remember hosts that you have previously connected to, meaning that you don't have to re-type the hostnames. Click on the menu bar icon, select "New Connection..." and then enter your DynDNS hostname (i.e. imac.homeip.net) and check the "Add to My Computers" box so it will appear in the My Computers sub-menu in the future. Click "Connect" and cross your fingers.
If it still doesn't work, I have a few more suggestions, but I warn you, we're going to get a little technical here. First, you're going to want to setup a DHCP Reservation for the computer you are trying to connect to. The process isn't very difficult. Essentially what you are doing is telling the router to always assign the same IP address to the computer you are trying to access. After you have done that, tell the router to send all traffic directly to that computer. On the Airport Express this is called the "Default Host" and is found on the Internet Tab under "NAT" but other routers have different names for it (I believe Linksys routers refer to this as the "DMZ" host. Check your router's documentation if you're not sure.)
Warning: once you do this you are bypassing your router's firewall. Mac OS X has a firewall, but it is not enabled by default. Launch System Preferences and click on the Security panel followed by Firewall tab. If it doesn't say "Firewall: On" be sure to enable it.
If all else fails, you might want to try another direction: Back to My Mac through iChat. I haven't actually tried that, but it's another option.
I can't explain why using a DynDNS domain name works more reliably than the built-in Bonjour sharing/connecting method, but after days of unsuccessfully trying to connect to my work computer, I have been able to connect via DynDNS without fail. As my Dad taught me long ago, "A good strategy is that which works."TUAWUse DynDNS for better success with Back To My Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple?s per-hour total for iPad pre-orders could be somewhere in the range of 15,000 to 25,000, according to bloggers who have been tracking order numbers. The initial efforts began at Investor Village?s AAPL Sanity Board and Silicon Alley Insider; the former came in at 25,000 per hour and the latter at 20,000. Later estimates, a few hours later, were 15,000 and 16,000 per hour.

Apple COO Tim Cook got a giant pile of cash/stock (valued at a total of $22 million) as a bonus thanks to his performance while Steve Jobs was on leave.

Read More:
Wall Street Journal

Read the comments on this post

In sync with pre-orders, the iPad today was passed through the FCC in both Wi-Fi only and 3G enabled models. The tests don't confirm new features but show that the two are clear to use Wi-Fi in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands as well as AT&T's 850MHz and 1,900MHz HSPA bands for the 3G edition. In a possibly intentional nod to tech enthusiasts, the 3G model carries the model number A1337....

UK telecommunications regulator Ofcom has proposed using 3G technologies at 2G frequencies in the UK, with an amended document that should be approved this August. In it, rules are updated to Ultra Wide Band usage, while 3G network technology will be deployed at the 900MHz and 1,800MHz bands which are currently restricted to the 2G GSM network....

The trial between Nokia and Apple won't begin until 2012 pending results of an ITC investigation. That's assuming it ever gets that far—Nokia has moved to have Apple's counterclaims dismissed.

Read More:
Reuters, Electronista

Read the comments on this post

Filed under: Retail, Apple, iPadAccording to MacDailyNews, shoppers who placed iPad pre-orders this morning are being told by Apple Store employees that demand could affect their plans for in-store pickup.
It seems that several customers ordered iPads this morning, opting for at-home delivery. For whatever reason, they later changed their minds and opted for in-store pickup. That's when things got tricky.
When requesting the switch, those customers are being told that their existing orders will have to be cancelled and new in-store orders placed. However, the employees warn, demand for the iPad has been so "overwhelming" today that they can no longer guarantee that an in-store pickup order will be available on April 3rd if placed at this late hour.
As of this writing, the online Apple Store notes that Wi-Fi iPads ordered today will be able for pickup at Apple Retail Store "...between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on April 3."
In other words: Selling like hotcakes.TUAW"Overwhelming" demand limiting iPad in-store pickup originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple has made inroads into the professional market with the iPhone—the company has noted that some Fortune 500 companies have deployed them alongside or even replacing BlackBerrys. Despite this, analysis of app usage suggests that it remains a mostly personal device.
Mobile analytic firm Localytics examined logs of use of third-party apps and found that app use during the week typically begins to ramp up around 5am and slowly increases to a peak around 9pm. Weekdays also tend to have a little bump in use right around lunch time.
On weekends, however, use starts picking up around 6am, reaching a steady peak around noon until 11pm. App usage sharply ramps down after 11, but slightly slower than it does on a typical week day.
This usage pattern is typical for a device that is used for personal rather than business reasons. However, it's also possible that business users are either sticking to Apple's supplied apps or are using custom-developed in-house apps for specific business needs. For instance, a business user is more likely to fire up Mail or Calendar than, say, Tweetie or Plants vs Zombies during the work day. Localytics notes that it expects to find similar usage patterns for the iPad, and that developers may want to consider these patterns when designing apps for either platform.


Read the comments on this post

The beginning of iPad pre-orders Friday morning led to a trading surge in Apple?s stock that briefly pushed its market capitalization ahead of Wal-Mart?s, thanks to a dip in the latter?s stock, noted Fortune?s Philip Elmer-DeWitt. Apple shares hit US$227.73 before retreating and ending the day at $226.60, up $1.10.

It may soon be difficult or impossible to get an iPad without having pre-ordered, information from retail sources indicates. Apple itself has confirmed that all shoppers are currently being limited to two iPads, even if they represent a business client. The restriction on businesses could imply that quantities are limited enough that Apple is reserving as much as it can for the general public....

Filed under: Retail, Apple Financial, iPadThe early adopters are out in force today. Based on analysis from Fortune's Apple 2.0 blog & the investors of the AAPL board on Investor Village, it seems that as many as 50,000 iPads were pre-ordered in its first two hours of availability this morning. That's pretty staggering demand, especially considering that on a typical day Apple only receives an average of 15,000 online orders for all products combined.
Naturally, we have no way of knowing if these numbers are exact as of yet. The numbers reflect over 50,000 orders placed in two hours, and the percentage of those that are iPad orders isn't clear. Considering that the iPad was just made available for pre-order today, however, and the 15K daily average noted above, it's likely the majority of orders placed this morning were indeed for the iPad. Additionally, the numbers only reflect the number of orders placed, not the number of units ordered; taken with the 2-pad maximum for today's pre-orders, the data does suggest that somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 iPad pre-orders were placed within two hours of its availability.
This suggests a huge demand for the device, at least among early adopters. It will be very interesting to see if this trend is repeated once the iPad is actually available in stores.
One interesting note: even if all 50,000 of those iPads were the $499 version (which is very unlikely), based on iSuppli's analysis of that unit's build cost, it means Apple gained nearly $13.5 million in revenue from the iPad alone in a mere two hours -- and that's the bare minimum. Once you factor in all the other models and their higher prices, the numbers climb by several million dollars. Even for a company with a market cap in excess of $205 billion, that's still pretty amazing performance.
[h/t MacRumors]TUAWPossibly as many as 50,000 iPads pre-ordered in first two hours originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

South Korea is considering banning access to the Android Marketplace to its residents if Google continues to offer game apps that are not approved by the country's regulator. According to a Thursday report, South Korea's Games Ratings Board officially requested that Google Korea abides by the law, requiring all video games to be rated by the governing body. Google is reviewing the South Korean government's request but has not yet made any decisions public....

Microsoft has lost another appeal of an August 2009 court judgment that found the company in infringement of XML patents owned by i4i. Those patents cover the use of XML in Microsoft Word 2003 and 2007, and the US$240 million decision forced Microsoft to begin removing the functionality from those applications.

In this week?s heap of technical news debris, John looks at the effectiveness of Apple?s R&D expenditures, Objective-C code appearing on TV?s Numb3rs, a vintage 1984 Mac running Snow Leopard, Apple?s tough stance against HTC and others, a Steve Jobs phone call that backfired, iPad imitators, historical reactions to Apple products long before the iPad, whether the iPad will ever replace the Mac, and a straight talk smackdown for the iPad.

Vodafone today said it has shut down Wayfinder, the company providing its subscription GPS service. The move has cost 90 jobs and is characterized as a direct reaction to the availability of free Ovi Maps on Nokia phones and, to a lesser degree, Google Maps Navigation on Android. The two render Wayfinder redundant as they offer the same or better turn-by-turn but without the monthly rate....

Nokia on Friday asked for a dismissal of Apple?s anti-trust claims against it, arguing that the allegations are ?designed to divert attention away from free-riding off of Nokia?s intellectual property,? according to Wilmington, Del. court papers quoted by Bloomberg.

Filed under: Apple, iPadConsidering AppleCare for your iPad? I know that I am. For $99, AppleCare extends your iPad warranty coverage to two years from the date of purchase. Although AppleCare tends to be expensive, for certain purchases it can really save you, especially for devices which run a higher risk of component failure over a lifetime of hard use -- such as laptops and other mobile tech.
Many Apple aficionados tend to avoid buying AppleCare for robust devices like the Mac mini series. Those units tend either to die right away or last forever. They are highly self-serviceable for anyone who has a reasonable degree of comfort with a screwdriver.
The iPad and the iPhone, on the other hand, can feel like accidents waiting to happen. Without a simple avenue for owner-repair, they are more of a black box purchase. And their components can and do die much more unexpectedly. In my history of purchasing iPhones and iPod touches, I have personally encountered video driver death and massive touchscreen failure.
To be fair, both of these incidents happened within a month or so of purchase, so keep that in mind as well. For many devices, component failures tend to show themselves fairly soon. With a standard iPad purchase, you are covered for 90 days of phone support and a 1 year hardware warranty without any need for a further AppleCare payment, according to the Apple representative I talked to this morning.
What's more, if you want to wait, you can. Purchasing AppleCare extends standard iPad coverage to 2 years each of phone support and hardware warranty. You can buy AppleCare up until the last day of your 1 year complimentary coverage, so there's not really a rush unless you need phone support during that time.
I know I'm completely out in speculation territory, but I kind of think that the component failure rate for these devices tends to be a bit higher than for desktop systems. I base this on several years of hanging around with other iPhone and iPod touch users and listening to their stories rather than on any consistent study. So I tend to err on the "I know I'm kind of getting ripped off buying this extended warranty from AppleCare but that's okay for my piece of mind" side.
AppleCare may be a big additional price to grapple with when you're already coughing up $499 or more for the device, but consider that this object is going to bounce around with you most of the places you go, and take abuse accordingly. TUAW colleague Mike Rose suggests AppleCare on any mobile device where paying the repair or replacement cost out of your own pocket would be more painful than you'd like.
Former TUAWian Josh Carr runs Rocky Mountain Mac Repair. He tells me that iPod and iPhone glass repairs tend to run $99 and that you can expect iPad glass replacement to run somewhere near $200. When you look at those figures, the $99 Applecare price point begins to look a little more attractive.
Apple tends to be one of the least obnoxious companies around when it comes to actually following-through on their extended warranties. Anyone who has visited a genius bar with a sick Apple product will recognize that having a diagnostic and repair service in-store helps create an atmosphere of getting devices fixed without an argument. And that's a very nice thing, indeed.
Admittedly, Apple has been a little rotten about it's various moisture sensors (especially the ones near the microphone for the iPhone -- where you naturally blow hot moist air while talking) but you can always insist that repair persons open devices to check the interior moisture sensors as well.
Another thing about AppleCare is that it does make your early-adopter iPad a lot more re-sellable via eBay. As TUAW commenters have pointed out, being able to state that your device has an extended warranty in place can help it stand out among other auctions and offer extra end-purchaser confidence.
So, bottom line? You will have a year or so to decide about AppleCare after purchasing your new iPad, but sometimes it's simply nice to know that a problem will be taken care of.TUAWiPad 101: iPad AppleCare pros & cons originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The initial rush of iPad pre-orders may have seen sales as high as 20,000 or more per hour, according to early estimates. The CEO of Phanfare, Andrew Erlichson, notes that his company bought two iPads in the space of 30 minutes. Despite the short interval, the order numbers were about 10,000 apart, which extrapolates into the 20,000 figure. Though accuracy may be affected non-iPad orders, these are likely to be in the minority given the early hour at which they were placed....

Apple's iPad pre-orders have pushed the Apple TV out of the main page, observers have told Electronista and MacNN. The device is still available through Apple's iPod section but has lost the position it has largely occupied since it was launched in 2007. Apple hasn't given a reason for the shift....

Filed under: iPadMuch as I love AT&T's prepaid services, their interactive system for purchasing feature packages... well, it kind of sucks. I can't count the number of hours I have spent on their 611 purchase line trying to get the chirpy fake human at the other end (no, seriously, the robot is very cheerful and upbeat) to properly confirm my correct order.
With the help of human operators (who cannot, by the way, actually effect the purchase), I have a cheat sheet that sits next to my computer and gets updated as they change their menu system: sometimes you have to say "yes". Sometimes you have to say "buy it". It's all a bit of a mess.
So when I read through Apple's updated iPad 3G page, I was delighted to see that you can add your prepaid 3G feature packages from the iPad without ever having to speak to chirpy fake humans. It's all done from the padtop. And that, let me say, is marvelous.
No, you won't be able to use AT&T prepaid cards, which is a pity. I'd rather enter a card number onto my iPad when sitting at an airport, for example, than my personal credit card information (thank you, AT&T, not), and you have to sign up for recurring plans (see the screenshot), but it looks like it's going to be a way better and friendlier experience than my 611 nightmares.
One of the great things about the 250 MB limited plan is that you'll be warned about how much of your data you've used. Apple's writeup states, "[iPad] will even let you know when you're running out [of data]. You'll get three alerts as you near your 250MB limit -- at 20 percent, 10 percent, and zero." At that time, you can add more data (in 250 MB increments) or upgrade to "unlimited" (likely capped at 5GB) for the forseeable future. There is no option for "oops, I underestimated my needs, can I just pay the remaining difference and hop onto the unlimited plan just for this month," so keep that in mind as well.
There's a big old "Cancel Plan" button that you can tap at any time that will get you out of any further purchases. Being a pre-paid AT&T plan, there's pretty much a zero percent chance that you'll get any refunds on unused services, so watch your calendar carefully while living in auto-renew-land. It's unclear if Cancel Plan simply cancels any future autorenewals, leaving you with any remaining data credited to your account for the month (my personal guess, and the norm for prepaid feature plans) or whether it cancels all services immediately.
Apple's write-up indicates that your device can automatically take advantage of Wi-Fi connections when they are available, in places like Starbucks and Barnes & Noble, which offer free Wi-Fi for anyone who has signed up for an AT&T data plan. That's going to be another way to stretch your data if you opt for the 250MB plan.TUAWiPad 101: Managing your 3G data plans originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Actor and comedian Richard Belzer, who is best known for the role of detective John Munch on the ?Law & Order? TV series, on Thursday discussed an incident at a Manhattan Apple store the previous day that resulted in an employee calling the police. Officers reviewed the store?s security footage and declined to press charges against Mr. Belzer, who now thinks that he was targeted for a shakedown.

Filed under: iPadIf you're living in Canada or Mexico -- but close enough to the border to make a trip to a US Apple Store -- Clean My Screen has posted instructions for reserving an iPad outside of the US. There are 23 steps in the guide, but it doesn't look terribly complicated.
It involves the creation of a new account with a US address and no payment method, but with a real email address. Then you can confirm your account and make a reservation, although you'll need to make a trek (or have a friend in a convenient location do it) to a brick-and-mortar US Apple Store to retrieve your iPad.
As noted in the article, having a US iTunes account can be handy for a handful of other reasons, including being used to buy free apps and music, and potentially get free eBooks once the iBook Store opens. If you live outside of iPad reservation territory, give it a shot and let us know how you fare.TUAWiPad 101: Reserve an iPad from outside the US originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review
Quizarium [free], a multiplayer iPhone/iPod touch trivia game, arrived in the App Store today. I got a chance to look at a pre-release copy and I found some problems with the interface and flow of the game. Some problems will be solved either upon release, since an update is being approved right now, or within a few days after release. According to Anthony Almanza, one of the developers at Lithuanian software development firm On5, Apple has gotten much quicker with approving updates. I spoke with Anthony at length about the app and offered a number of suggestions that will be implemented quite soon.
Quizarium uses the Plus+ social play network which allows many players to compete against each other by answering trivia questions in a number of set category rooms, or in new rooms that can be created by users. A server problem was found yesterday (and a revision quickly submitted), so room creation may or may not be activated upon release. I really didn't get a great feel for how a multiplayer game would look since, at most, I played against two people from On5, but I can imagine that the action will be pretty intense.
To play, you flick the screen up to view the entire list of category rooms, and when you tap on a room, the game starts. You are shown with a trivia question for 60 seconds, or until someone gives a correct answer. You can see the minute tick down by watching a progress bar at the top of the screen. Hints are given as time passes, showing you how many letters are in the answer and, as time is running out, you'll see the first few letters of the answer appearing. If you are the first with the correct answer, you gain points and receive awards courtesy of the Plus+ network. Tapping the Plus+ button on the main screen shows you your awards and takes you to the leaderboard where you'll see just how well you've done. Weekly leaderboards will be updated every Monday night. There is also an overall Plus+ network leaderboard.
Quizarium [free], a multiplayer iPhone/iPod touch trivia game, arrived in the App Store today. I got a chance to look at a pre-release copy and I found some problems with the interface and flow of the game. Some problems will be solved either upon release, since an update is being approved right now, or within a few days after release. According to Anthony Almanza, one of the developers at Lithuanian software development firm On5, Apple has gotten much quicker with approving updates. I spoke with Anthony at length about the app and offered a number of suggestions that will be implemented quite soon.
Quizarium uses the Plus+ social play network which allows many players to compete against each other by answering trivia questions in a number of set category rooms, or in new rooms that can be created by users. A server problem was found yesterday (and a revision quickly submitted), so room creation may or may not be activated upon release. I really didn't get a great feel for how a multiplayer game would look since, at most, I played against two people from On5, but I can imagine that the action will be pretty intense.
To play, you flick the screen up to view the entire list of category rooms, and when you tap on a room, the game starts. You are shown with a trivia question for 60 seconds, or until someone gives a correct answer. You can see the minute tick down by watching a progress bar at the top of the screen. Hints are given as time passes, showing you how many letters are in the answer and, as time is running out, you'll see the first few letters of the answer appearing. If you are the first with the correct answer, you gain points and receive awards courtesy of the Plus+ network. Tapping the Plus+ button on the main screen shows you your awards and takes you to the leaderboard where you'll see just how well you've done. Weekly leaderboards will be updated every Monday night. There is also an overall Plus+ network leaderboard.TUAWQuizarium the multiplayer trivia app is nearly ready for prime-time originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

HDDs, SSDs or Flash drives connected to a Mac can have their ownership relaxed when the drive is intended to be removed and shared with others. Here?s how and why to change the setting.

The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco came to a conclusion this week with a flurry of news about games whose roots stretch back to LucasArts? classic adventure games of the 1980s and 90s: Telltale Games announced that season three of Sam & Max, The Devil?s Playhouse, will kick off in April, and that the collector?s DVD of Tales of Monkey Island is available for pre-order; and Aspyr opened pre-orders for The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition.

Nokia as a response to Apple's countersuit on Thursday put forward a motion to dismiss Apple's claims. The argument insists that Apple's counterclaims are "designed to divert attention" away from the iPhone's alleged violation of Nokia's 3G patents. In the 28-page motion, it maintains that it tried negotiating "fair" royalties with Apple but that the American company doesn't have a right to sue simply because it feels the rates are too steep or the contract harsh....

Filed under: Macworld, Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store
Fallen Earth is a respectable postapocalyptic MMO -- I've never played it (one MMO is enough for me, and the gigantic World of Warcraft is still claiming my time), but it's grown pretty popular since release in September of last year. And now the game is set to pick up another chunk of audience, as the owner Icarus Studios has announced that they're releasing a Mac client for the game. It's currently in beta (and was made using Wine), but if you're interested in trying out a new MMO with a postapocalyptic twist, head on over, give the client a download (you'll need a game account, though there's a free trial available), and give the team a good Mac welcome.
That's not all, though -- Icarus is also working on their very own iPhone app, and I got to play with it this week at their GDC 2010 booth. For Fallen Earth players, it'll be a must-get, but even if you're not currently a player of the game, the app is a shining example of what's possible with a "supplementary" game application -- it allows for all sorts of in-game functions directly from Apple's handheld device.
Gallery: Fallen Earth iPhone app shots and concepts
The app is pretty barebones in terms of main screen UI -- there's simply a menu that leads you off to all of the app's various functions. But the functions are what's most fascinating about this: almost anything that you can do outside of combat in the game can actually be performed using the iPhone app. It works as a full gear and inventory viewer -- Icarus has replicated the game's UI for the player character's gear and inventory, so you can browse and examine your gear within in the app just like you can any time in the game.
That's not unheard of in the current MMO space (Blizzard has a similar viewer app for WoW), but this is: Fallen Earth's app goes beyond just viewing to actually acting and interacting with items in the real game. Logging into the app is just like logging into the game, so you can check the ingame mail system directly from the app, and even send mail out to other players from the iPhone. You can craft items directly on the iPhone, assuming you have the items in your inventory -- and even if you don't, you can access the in-game auction house to both buy and sell items from within the app. Purchased items appear in the mail window, so you can collect them there -- if one of your guildies needs a certain item crafted and you're away from your main PC client, you can log on to the app, buy the necessary crafting materials, craft the items (crafting is a passive action in the game that can sometimes take hours, so you can set items in the queue via the app), and then send them items away to your friend all without ever using the desktop client. Crafting gives XP, too, so you could potentially level your character using just the iPhone app. That's pretty incredible.
The app also has full messaging and chat ability -- you can chat directly with players either in the game (or even logged in using their own iPhone), and send private messages, chat in certain channels, and anything else you can do in the normal game. And it also has a full set of in-game maps installed, so even though you can't explore the game world with your character, you can still examine it.
It's a pretty impressive application, especially for one that's designed just to supplement the full game client. Dave Haydysch, Icarus' associate production manager, told us that the company had worked with Showtime to make an iPhone game based on the Dexter television show, and since they'd already ported most of their game engine for that project, they figured it wouldn't be too hard to make their own iPhone app. He wasn't sure on a release date yet, and the company hasn't yet decided a price -- "talks" about whether it should be free or not "are ongoing," he said.
And just for the heck of it, we asked him about the iPad -- certainly, the app would work on the iPad, but would Icarus want to put their game on there? Like most developers, they haven't actually seen the device yet, so he didn't have a firm word for us. "We haven't looked at the iPad," he said, "but the possibilities are there." Very interesting to see a larger MMO developer use the iPhone to extend their brand in this way.TUAWGDC 2010: Fallen Earth comes to the Mac, brings an iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

An Australian trademark tribunal has rejected Apple's attempt to prevent some companies from using a lowercase "i" in their names, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. At the center of the case is DOPi, a brand of bags and cases for Apple products sold by the Sydney-based Wholesale Central. Apple complained to IP Australia, the government body behind the tribunal, that people could potentially confuse DOPi products for its own, as the name is a reversed take on "iPod."...

Sony has sold just 17,618 PSP Go handhelds in Japan over the past three months, German magazine GameFront and Japanese analyst firm Media Create this week. The Go was not only the poorest-selling model over the period but has seen its sales taper to below levels reserved for previous-generation consoles. At 1,275 units sold in the first week of March, the "premium" PSP has been outsold by the now decade-old PS2....

Filed under: AppleApple has finally added a screen rotation lock to one of its iPhone OS computing products. The button, which appears on the side of the new iPad will lock the device into its current orientation, preventing the unit from responding to re-orientation events. For everyone who has ever tried to play a game while lying down on a couch or a bed, let me say: Thank you, Apple!
Finally, we'll be able to lock our orientation in place and not worry about an overly helpful system trying to do its best to keep up with the way we hold our screens. If you've ever tried reading a webpage, scanning mail, or just playing a game on the iPhone while lying on your side, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
Can't wait for this to appear on the next iPhone as well!
Thanks, Attila - hat tip to The LoopTUAWiPad adds Screen Rotation lock. Recumbent users scream "Finally!" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPad owners that want to lock the display?s orientation won?t have to rely on application developers to include the feature in their apps thanks to a screen rotation lock switch.

When Apple first introduced the iPad in late January, we noted with much disappointment that the device had no way to lock the screen orientation. This is apparently no longer the case, however—according to an updated iPad specs page, there is now a screen-rotation-lock switch on the right-hand side of the device, seemingly replacing the mute switch that was there when the media first played with it.
In January, Ars confirmed the lack of a screen-lock option with an Apple representative at the iPad event. At that time, the Apple rep reminded us that individual apps give users the option to lock the screen into portrait or landscape mode (which is already the case on a number of third-party iPhone apps), but that the iPad itself had no universal control like on the Kindle or Nook.
As a serial in-bed Kindle and iPhone user, this was disappointing to me and a number of other readers. There are few things on earth more annoying than trying to type on your iPhone at a strange angle and have the screen rotate four times before you're finished.
Apple apparently heard our cries. 9 to 5 Mac first pointed out the difference in specs this morning, which is now reflected on the official iPad spec page. Yep, that sure does say "screen rotation lock," and that option was definitely not there when Ars played with the iPad on January 27.
For those of you who forgot, today is iPad preorder day as well. You can now reserve one to be picked up in-store on April 3 (WiFi only) or you can preorder either the WiFi or 3G versions to be delivered to you. As usual, you can count on Ars to have a review up not long after the iPad launch!


Read the comments on this post

Apple briefly overtook discount retailer Walmart in market cap on Friday morning, says Fortune. Starting 90 minutes after pre-orders for the iPad opened, a surge of about 2 million shares is said to have been traded in the space of 30 minutes, pushing Apple's stock price up to $227.73. It has since relaxed to approximately $227....

John and Dave come to you on this Friday morning for the first Premium show of March. This one?s full of great info, including how to manage login items, spotlight, and Safari?s default search engine. Then your geeks get into a good primer discussion for how to safely use the terminal to do some things that you simply can?t do anywhere else. Subscribe today, support your two favorite geeks, and learn even more!

Apple as a corporation faces a few semi-serious problems. Even as we want Apple to succeed, it?s good to be aware of the challenges Apple faces ? with a far, sober, and critical mindset. Here?s John?s not-very-long list. The first four are a continuing thorn in Apple?s side, and the fifth has real danger potential.