Filed under: iPhone Silicon Alley Insider has posted an interesting chart that shows the total number of apps available across various mobile platforms. As you can see from the chart, Apple's iPhone leads the pack by a longshot with 170,000 apps according to AppShopper.com. AppShopper typically lists more apps than Apple publicly states it has because AppShopper updates its numbers on a daily basis. As of today's count, AppShopper says Apple has approved 198,924 apps with 171,722 available to download. The discrepancy between the numbers accounts for apps that either the developers or Apple have removed from the App Store. Apple officially states that it currently has 150,000 apps. A distant second after Apple's App Store is Google's Android Marketplace with 30,000 apps. RIM's Blackberry trails with only 5,000 apps, while Palm has a paltry 2,000. Windows Phone 7 Series Applications were announce a few days ago with a limited number of developers signed on. Of course, these numbers don't take app quality into account at all (100,000 fart apps is still just a bunch of junk), but clearly in terms of available downloads, Apple has a huge lead.TUAWApple leads the App Store race with 170,000 apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: iPhone Sprint has released an ad that features the iPhone with its Overdrive 3G/4G Hotspot mobile router. The Overdrive allows you to use Sprint's 4G network with any WiFi capable device. The ad features "Matt" and the appropriately-named iPhone-owner "Steve." "My friend Steve's iPhone is cool, but it's limited to AT&T's 3G speeds," Matt says. "So I'm going to use the Overdrive 4G mobile hotspot to make it up to ten times faster. And while that's happening, I'm going to enjoy this tasty snack," at which point Matt pulls out an apple and takes a bite. Steve connects to the Sprint 4G WiFi network on his iPhone and quickly begins streaming a music video which leads him to exclaim, "Whoa. Done." The ad ends with Matt asking, "What can you do with 4G?" before the narrator chimes in, "Whatever you do, do it up to ten times faster than 3G with 4G from Sprint." Sprint was one of the first to attack the iPhone but now, like most wireless providers, wants to be an official iPhone carrier. Last September Charlie Rose asked Sprint CEO Dan Hesse how the Pre was stacking up against the iPhone, to which he replied, "It's... it's doing well, but you can almost put the iPhone, to be fair, in a separate category. The Apple brand and that device have done so well, it's almost not... it's like comparing someone to Michael Jordan." Well, if you can't beat the star, why not make some sweet accessories to go along with those Air Jordans? TUAWSprint features iPhone in 4G ad

Filed under: iPad MacRumors reports that Apple has begun offering iPad 10-packs to educational institutions at discounted rates. The discounts are relatively minor: $20 off of each iPad in a set of 10, or $40 off per iPad if they are ordered with AppleCare. The iPad 10-packs are shipped in a single box, which eliminates individual packaging. In addition to the ten iPads, the packs contain ten power adapters, ten USB-to-Dock cables, and one set of documentation. Currently, only the WiFi models are available in the educational 10-packs. Like the iPhone, there are no iPad educational discounts currently available to students or teachers. Many believe that the iPad can revolutionize the tools for education. This educational 10-pack could be an early sign that Apple will aggressively pursue the iPad as an educational tool. The iPad 10-packs begin shipping in April.TUAWEducational institutions: Get your discounted iPad 10-pack originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: OSCharles Miller, a computer security researcher who's worked with the NSA, is planning to reveal 20 zero-day security holes in Mac OS X at CanSecWest, a digital security conference, in Vancouver BC next week. A zero-day security hole is a weakness in software that neither the makers of the software nor other individuals have any knowledge of. Hackers then take advantage of the exploit on the day it becomes general knowledge. Miller revealing that Mac OS X has twenty of them makes Apple look like they didn't do the job right the first time and also suggests Apple needs glasses to see what they've missed - and he's not wrong. "Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town," Miller said, suggesting that while both OSes have their security flaws, the Mac OS is safer because of the lack of people threatening to exploit it. But software is software, and no matter how much more secure Mac OS X is than Windows, it's still bound to have some security issues. I'm all for Charles Miller digging around the OS to find flaws, but come on, if you find them, why announce them to the world and open up a potential new round of attacks? Wouldn't it be better to report them to Apple instead of to the host of hackers that pay attention to CanSecWest? There's no question about it, Apple should have caught these holes in the first place and Miller is right in calling them out on

Filed under: GamingDo you need a weapon that's not as clumsy or random as a blaster, or perhaps, an elegant weapon from a more civilized age? Soon, there will be an app for that. THQ Wireless, the maker of several Star Wars-themed iPhone apps including The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: Trench Run, will release a new app called Lightsaber Duel early in April. Overall, the app sounds similar to another app called Lightsaber Unleashed, which allows you to swing your iPhone around and make "vvvmmm, vvvmmm, tssshh!" noises come out of the speaker. Lightsaber Duel will expand on that idea. Rather than merely going all Star Wars Kid with your iPhone, you'll actually be able to engage in duels with your fellow wannabe Jedi or Sith via a Bluetooth connection with their iPhone. You'll also be able to play music during the duel. However, we're not yet sure if that means only music bundled with the app, or if you'll be able to play your iTunes music. "Duel of the Fates" and "Battle of the Heroes" are fine lightsaber battle tunes, but the übernerd in me wants to be able to mix it up and throw in a little "One-Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy VII or "Burly Brawl" from Matrix: Reloaded. THQ hasn't released pricing info yet, but assuming it isn't heinously expensive, this is an app that's likely to hit the top of the App Store charts within hours of its release. [Via Mashable]TUAWComing soon: Lightsaber duels on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) o

Filed under: iPad Thursday's Macworld article from Jason Snell on the relative merits of waiting for the 3G iPad sets out a good case for the superiority of the more flexible -- and expensive -- AT&T-enabled units. If you can keep your powder dry during the interminable wait through most of April, while your friends are flaunting their WiFi-only units, you might be better off. For the investment of $130 up front, mobile users get GPS capability plus the wireless broadband equivalent of a reserve chute; whenever you find yourself without solid WiFi access, you can buy into the 250 MB on-demand plan and surf as needed. He also points out one of the undersung prizes of the AT&T plans; they give unlimited access to the company's WiFi infrastucture across the country, including thousands of Starbucks hotspots and former Wayport networks (lots of hotels and airports, where the daily fee for broadband could quickly add up to the $14.95 you'd pay for a month of 3G). That alone is a noticeable benefit. I agree with Jason's main point: unless your iPad use model is restricted to known hotspot zones, it makes good sense to consider the 3G units. It's only at the end of the post, in the crystal ball 'n tea leaves department, that I wonder if he's right: anticipating a relatively near-term scenario where the iPad product line unifies to an all-3G offering, and the WiFi-only iPad simply goes away. It's certainly true that "Apple is a company that prefers simplicity in its produc

Filed under: iPhone, Music Earlier we were hearing that Apple might get involved in location-based ad-hoc social networking, and now it looks like Plastikman might beat them to the punch. That's the DJ, not the superhero -- he's released an iPhone app that's designed to be used at his concerts this summer, giving you some personal involvement on your iPhone while the music and video of the show goes on around you. It's a free download, and while at a concert on a free Wi-Fi network, the app will receive real-time information about the music and video during the show, and even give access to some of the samples being used. Outside of shows, the app says it will work as an "atmospheric location shifter," using the iPhone's microphone and headphones to wrap users "in a Plastikman environment." Whatever that means. The point here is that this is an app actually built for a specific location, adding in specific funcationality when you're on a certain Wi-Fi network. That's a very cool idea. Even if you don't have Plastikman tickets (looks like he's only playing Coachella and one show in Detroit here in the US), the idea of location-specific software is one we'll probably see come up again in the future.TUAWPlastikman releases SYNK, an app for his tour originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: OS, TUAW Business It's time again for another Dear, Apple letter from the readers of TUAW. In our first series (part one, part two, part three) you told us what you want to see in the next iPhone OS. Now we need your help again to tell Apple what you want to see in the next version of Mac OS X. Think the Finder needs a makeover? Does Mail need improvements? Address Book not cutting it for you? If you have ideas for the Dock, Finder, Dashboard, DVD Player, Exposé, Quick Look, Terminal, Image Capture, Preview, Spotlight, Spaces, Safari, Mail, iCal, Address Book, iChat, QuickTime X, Photo Booth, System Preferences, or Time Machine -- make yourself heard! Tell us what you would change in any of the featured apps in Mac OS X and we'll tell the world (and Apple) for you. If you're dreaming of what Mac OS X 10.7 should be like, dream big. If you think Linux or Windows does something better and want the Mac OS to have it, tell us. Even if a mobile OS, like iPhone or Android, does something you think the Mac OS can benefit from, don't be afraid to say it. Email your suggestions to me at tuawmacosx [at] me dot com by next Thursday, March 25th. Please note that only suggestions emailed to the address above will be included, but feel free to hash out your thoughts in the comments below. Also note that this series will not deal with iTunes, iWork or iLife (that's still coming up though). For the iPhone series I received thousands of emails; for the sake of my eyes

Filed under: iPad In his panel at GDC last week, Ngmoco's Neil Young dropped the news that his company was going all out with their freemium business model -- not only are they releasing twenty iPhone titles by the end of this year, but they're planning on having six iPad titles ready to go right away at launch. Touch Arcade has done a little digging, and they've come up with what they think the six iPad titles will be. Here we go: GodFinger We Rule (both of these were previewed last week) Flick Fishing (probably re-created as a freemium app) NBA Hotshot (also likely remade into Ngmoco's model) CastleCraft (an MMO strategy/wargame) WarpGate As you may have noticed, two of those are Ngmoco originals, and four of those are Freeverse titles that were either planned for the iPad or are being remade for the new platform; again, presumably free-to-play, along with microtransactions and freemium resources in the Ngmoco mold. That's definitely a sizeable library going into the new platform, and if Ngmoco really does have these ready to go on April 3rd (and I don't see any reason why they wouldn't -- even if they haven't gotten one of those test iPads from Apple, their model is designed to release early and make updates quickly if needed), then they'll be positioned to grab iPad app space very early on.TUAWSix Ngmoco iPad titles revealed originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use o

Filed under: OS Here's one for the freak occurrence archives. A TUAW reader e-mailed us after running Software Update on his new 2.8GHz i7 iMac last night. Something odd popped up. "I got a new 27-inch iMac earlier this week," he wrote. "Last night I checked for updates and it starts 'Downloading **PRERELEASE** Mac OS X Update...' I figured what the heck and let it go. Now my iMac is on 10.6.3 which as far as I know isn't available yet?! I am not a developer or anything so I am not sure why this happened." digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/cool-weird-stuff-tuaw-reader-accidentally-downloads-10-6-3-pre/'; tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/cool-weird-stuff-tuaw-reader-accidentally-downloads-10-6-3-pre/'; tweetmeme_source = 'tuaw'; Just in case you're thinking that Apple employee access was to blame, here are some basic facts: The reader bought the iMac online from the Apple Store and was never in a retail store with it. The reader who sent us these screen shots is not an Apple employee nor does he have access to Apple's RSA Secure ID or VPN. He performed his update at home and not at an Apple retail store. This kind of update does not normally appear in the wild on Software Update. Prerelease, and specifically "**PRERELEASE**", updates refer to Apple-internal builds distributed to any Apple employee who has access to Apple's VPN. A **PRERELEASE** build is typically seeded to employees 24 to 48 hours before the build goes public via Software

If you want an economical way to buy into the reigning speed champion of virtualization apps, the MacUpdate Promo Spring Bundle may be just the ticket. At $49.99, the 11-app bargain basket is headlined by Parallels Desktop 5 (normally $79 alone). The rest of the lineup is solid as well: Bee Docs Timeline 3D ($65) Spell Catcher ($39.95) Hydra ($79.95) Back-In-Time ($29) ForeverSave ($14.95) Hyperspaces ($12.95) Web Snapper ($15) Mac DVDRipper Pro ($9.95) MacScan ($29.99) If you're buying the bundle early enough (within the first 20,000 purchases -- as of right now they are edging towards 14K), you get Metakine's DVD Remaster Pro as a bonus app. The bundle sale runs for 12 more days, but you've only got 2 days to get in on our 2-bundle giveaway; MacUpdate has reserved one bundle each for two lucky TUAW readers. See details by clicking "Read more" below! To enter, just submit a comment below telling us which apps you think would be best for the next MUPromo bundle. Summary of giveaway rules: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter leave a comment below describing the app you think MacUpdate should include in the next bundle offering.. The comment must be left before Sunday March 21, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. Two winners will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: One MacUpdate Pr

Filed under: Steve Jobs During a surprise appearance at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, California, Steve Jobs joined California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to help advance organ donation legislation. Last year, Jobs flew to Tennessee to receive a liver transplant, and spoke briefly of this. "There were not enough livers in California to go around," he said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. "I was advised by my Stanford doctors to enroll on a list at a Memphis hospital, because it was more favorable to get a liver there. I was fortunate." And without the transplant, Jobs said, "I could have died." Steve Jobs returned to work at Apple in June 2009 and, according to the report, told other transplant survivors that he is currently feeling fine. "It's been a pretty good last few months." If passed, the legislation could help save more lives by making it easier for Californians to affirm their preferred organ donor status. The current system, says Jobs, "is an obscure process." Full text of the legislation, Senate Bill 1395, can be viewed here. To find out more about organ donation, visit Donate Life America, the Mayo Clinic's 10 myths of organ donation, and, lastly, state organ and tissue donor registries at OrganDonor.Gov. [via Silicon Alley Insider]TUAWSteve Jobs helps push organ donation legislation originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | 

Filed under: iPadLast week at GDC 2010, I talked to quite a few iPhone developers, big and small, and they all told me exactly the same thing when I asked about the iPad: "No, I haven't gotten my hands on one yet." But apparently there are at least a few developers out there who've gotten test models from Apple, according to Business Week, and the requirements that come with them are as strict as you can imagine. There are 10 pages of rules and regulations, and those include that the iPad has to be kept secured to a fixed object in a windowless room, and the company actually requires photographic proof of compliance before they'll actually ship the device out. Sounds crazy, but clearly there's reasons for such a strict agreement from both sides: developers really want to get a head start on what will surely be a huge market for apps and content starting on the iPad's release, and obviously Apple wants to make sure that the device stays under cover until it releases. You might think that they'd actually benefit from a little exposure, but don't forget: this is Apple -- they depend on the hype and interest that secrecy before release creates. After it comes out, seeing the iPad out in the world will likely sell even more units, but pre-release, Apple's customers are happy to stand in line to be the first to use the iPad. Of course, this is all from anonymous sources -- it'll be interesting to see if any of these "iPads in the wild" find their way out to the public in the form

Filed under: AppleChina Mobile announced at a news conference that it's going after service for Apple in that country -- it wants to host both the iPhone and the iPad in China for Apple. Currently, the iPhone service there is provided by China Unicom, but China Mobile has said that if the iPhone is ported over to its government-approved 3G service (similar, it seems, to the rumored deal with Verizon), then China Mobile would be interested in offering both. Officially, Apple hasn't said anything about this -- it has been confirmed to be in talks about the iPhone, but those are only talks, of course, and it hasn't been talking at all with China Mobile about the iPad. Still, being that China Mobile is the largest data provider in the world, with over 520 million subscribers, Apple might eventually be enticed, especially if they need to widen the potential audience to sell more handsets. Plus, if the rumored deal with Verizon actually happens, Apple won't really have reason to be exclusive in the rest of the world, either.TUAWChina Mobile angling for iPad, iPhone service in China originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Found Footage After spending years trying, failing and trying again to teach a number of mature Apple users how to use various Apple products, I got a kick out of this video. It's funny because it's true, and it also shows that there are some less than optimum uses for an iPad. This iPad parody was made as a school project for a Comm 340 class. I think you'll get a chuckle out of it on this late Friday afternoon. Thanks Justin for sending it in.TUAWFound Footage: Grandma gets an iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: iPhoneSquare is a very cool piece of hardware for the iPhone and other smartphones; when combined with the Square service, you can accept credit card payments right on your iPhone. TechCrunch reports that charity:water used Square at SxSW to collect donations, and other uses are already cropping up; flower carts and political fundraisers, for instance. If you haven't seen it in action, check out our in-person walkthrough from Macworld Expo, or the official YouTube video demonstration. The demo features Adam Lisagor (creator of Birdhouse for iPhone and part of my favorite podcast You Look Nice Today) and Jason Permenter, who walk through a very simple real-life scenario: what do you do if you want to sell something, like a couch, to someone who wants to pay with a credit card? Square not only makes it possible to do that, but it adds some cool features such as showing a picture of the buyer and seller on the iPhone to verify their identity. Square was born after Jim McKelvey couldn't sell a piece of art because he couldn't accept a credit card, a process that has traditionally been complicated and expensive. Part of Square's vision has included charitable giving, where a donation of 1¢ is made from every transaction to a cause of your choice. When I was growing up, using a credit card meant that the clerk had to reach under the counter, pull out a device where you would carefully line up the credit card, then put special receipt paper on it, including two ca

Filed under: iPad Do you believe in miracles? If you clap your hands, will Tinkerbell appear? Are you willing to submit an application developed solely in a simulator and hope that it will work on real hardware? With real customers? In a real App Store? Well, now is your chance to find out. tweetmeme_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/apple-is-now-accepting-ipad-app-submissions/" tweetmeme_source = "tuaw" According to an email just sent out to devs, Apple is now accepting iPad application submissions through iTunes Connect. You can submit your application today and "receive feedback" on its "readiness for the grand opening." digg_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/apple-is-now-accepting-ipad-app-submissions/" Simulator-only apps developed with the iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 5 can be submitted as of today for initial review. Upload your apps by 5pm, Saturday, March 27th, and the App review team will e-mail you with submission feedback about the readiness of your application for App Store distribution. You will also receive information about submitting your apps for final review, before the iPad ships and (for most of us) before we even own hardware. If you're thinking about waiting: don't. Apple states that "[o]nly apps submitted for the initial review will be considered for the grand opening of the iPad App Store." An Apple spokesman further confirmed that "[W]e are looking forward to having an amazing line up of apps available when the iPad ships on April 3." The

Filed under: Jailbreak/pwnageA few weeks ago, I wrote lovingly about GPS. For me, at least, GPS on the iPhone OS family is often more about the social features that location unlocks than about simple positioning. With GPS, you can track your trips to share with friends and family, see what people have been Yelp-ing about, and find what's happening right now, right near you. When I heard about GPS for iPod touches, I got excited. For a while, I've been reading about roqyBluetooth (aka roqyBT). It's a system hack that allows you to connect an iPod or an early model iPhone to an external GPS receiver over Bluetooth. Yesterday, I finally got a chance to put RoqyBT to the test. Retailing for 8 Euros (about $11), roqyBluetooth is a jailbreak application sold through Cydia and the Rock Store. Its Bluetooth stack implementation hooks into the iPod's Core Location system services. In use, any application that normally queries for Core Location data gains access to the Bluetooth-originated GPS data (including location, elevation, and so forth) just as it would normally receive WiFi positioning or, in the case of the iPhone, cell tower positioning. It works. I bought a simple Bluetooth GPS unit from Semsons.com for about $20. After installing roqyBluetooth and pairing it with my BT GPS, I was able to run Trailguru and track my progress through several trips as I walked and drove to various locations. The Trailguru results were similar to the trails I recorded simultaneously on an iP

Filed under: iPad A few months ago Macworld asked where's the iPad's Dvorak keyboard? Well, in the iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 5, which was released on Tuesday, there's support for hardware Dvorak keyboards in the OS; however, still no sign of a soft keyboard layout for Dvorak fans. A source sent us the above screen shot from the iPad simulator, showing Dvorak layouts as a hardware choice -- and if you've seen a Bluetooth Dvorak keyboard lately, let us know. This setting would presumably allow you to use a standard keyboard with the Dvorak layout, however, and apply stickers to the keys if needed. Apple's official tech specs for the iPad still only list keyboard support for the following: English (U.S.), English (UK), French (France, Canada), German, Japanese (QWERTY), Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian. As Wikipedia states, on a Dvorak keyboard, the letters and frequently-occurring punctuation are organized the letters and frequently-occurring punctuation "so that the cumulative distance traveled by the 10 fingers when touch-typing typical English text is closer to the minimum than when touch-typing that same text via the dominant QWERTY layout. This reduction in distance traveled was originally purported to permit faster rates of typing, but in later years is also purported to reduce repetitive-strain injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome." The Dvorak keyboard was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak. [Update: In the origina

Filed under: Odds and endsPCMag.com's recent article The Best Apple Product Alternatives couldn't smell any more like "bait" without being covered in worms. Hoping to appeal to those who have some innate desire to not buy from Apple due to "a limited budget or an anti-Apple stance," PCMag put together a list of "alternative" products to Apple gear like the iPhone, iPod touch & iPod shuffle. The headline will surely grab attention, but as a friend of mine used to say, "Is there any meat in that sandwich?" They start out comparing the iPhone 3GS to the Google Nexus One. The Nexus One will save you $20, but even PCMag rates the Nexus One 3.5/5 stars while the iPhone gets 4/5. The Samsung Mythic SGH-a897 will save you $70 and gets 4/5 stars. Only one catch: it's not a smartphone. It has "Web-based widgets" and apparently shows broadcast TV. Oh, and it's on AT&T too, so if you're turning down the iPhone because of the network, this isn't for you. So far this sounds like comparing my car to my bike and telling me the bike is better because it doesn't require gas. tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/pcmag-offers-best-alternatives-to-apple-products'; tweetmeme_source = 'tuaw'; Next is the iPod touch, listed in the category of "Portable Media Players," and here even PCMag can't keep a straight face: "We won't lie: You won't find a PMP that outperforms the iPod touch. Name another player that's basically an iPhone without the phone, and, well...you can't." Th

Filed under: iPhoneBharti Airtel has announced that it has reached an agreement to sell the iPhone 3GS in India. Bharti Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India, with more than 124 million subscribers. In a statement, Bharti Airtel said the agreement would allow Bharti to bring the latest iPhone to India "in the coming months" without setting an exact release date. The iPhone 3G has been sold in India by both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone since August 22, 2008, but the iPhone 3GS has yet to go on sale. Most Indian service providers struggle to ensure decent call quality and while the rest of the world is preparing to adopt 4G, India is gearing up to welcome 3G. The announcement came a day after Bharti submitted its bid in a bandwidth auction for 3G mobile telephony services in India. The successful bidders will be allowed to offer 3G services on a commercial basis from September 1st. At present, no deal has been announced for the iPhone 3GS at Vodafone.TUAWBharti Airtel will sell iPhone 3GS in India originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: OSAfter only two days since the last build was seeded, Apple has pushed another 10.6.3 version out to developers. The newest build is numbered 10D572 and focuses on Graphics Drivers, Quicktime, Images & Photos, Mail, and Security Certificates. In addition, the build also includes: Compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications Performance improvements for 64-bit Logic Changes to QuickTime X that increase reliability and improve compatibility and security Printing reliability and compatibility with third party printers Issues resolved that prevented files from copying to Windows shares Issues resolved with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server Issues resolved that prevented files with the "#" or "&" symbols in their names from opening in Rosetta Issues addressed that caused background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail when scrolling Issue resolved that caused machines using BTMM and the Bonjour Sleep Proxy to wake unexpectedly Like the previous build, there is a single known issue: Safari 4.0.5 will be re-offered by Software Update after upgrading to 10D572 from a previous seed. As a general rule, the closer build release dates come to one another, the sooner the build will be released to the general public. 10.6.3 seems like it could very well be the biggest update to Snow Leopard since its launch last August. If the improvements are significant, it's very likely that Apple wi

Filed under: Found Footage Urikane, an iPhone user with a LOT of time on his hands, has put together a (nearly) full alphabet using 540 apps. Each screen contains one letter -- except for the W, which as our commenters point out, was skipped. It would be especially hard to do on a 4x4 matrix, unless one could find app icons with the right contours to simulate the angled sections. tweetmeme_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/19/found-footage-iphone-alphabet-made-from-540-apps/" tweetmeme_source = "tuaw" Outside of this being really clever, you have to admire the resolve of Urikane to actually get this done. It must have taken forever.TUAWFound Footage: iPhone alphabet made from 540 apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Hardware, Rumors, Mac Pro AppleInsider is reporting that Apple is preparing to launch a 27-inch Cinema Display and 12-core Mac Pro by June. The 27-inch Cinema Display is rumored to use the same panel as the one used in the 27-inch iMac and will look similar to the 24-inch Cinema Display launched in October 2008. Internally, the display is referred to as "K59" and AppleInsider's sources believe its been lingering in Apple's labs for some time while Apple waited for the larger LCD panel - which supports resolutions up to 2560 by 1440 pixels - to drop in price. Along side the 27-inch Cinema Display will be the long-awaited Mac Pro update. The tower would get at least one 12-core model using two of Intel's six-core Xeon 5600 processors (that's a dodeca-core Mac Pro, baby!). The 5600 series will be available in 2.66, 2.8, 2.93, and 3.33GHz configurations. A June time frame would be almost fifteen months after Apple shipped the last Mac Pro. The late release would owe itself to Intel not delivering the Xeon 5600's for another month and a half. Apple typically updates their Pro towers in the first few months of the new year. [Cinema Display mock-ups by AppleInsider]TUAW27-inch Cinema Display, 12-core Mac Pro by June originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Software, Software UpdateApple has updated Logic Pro and Logic Express, its digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer software applications. The Logic Pro 9.1.1 update weighs in at 192MB and addresses compatibility and numerous fixes including: - Improved stability of the 32-Bit Audio Unit Bridge - Compatibility with Novation"s Automap feature in 64-bit mode. - Compatibility with Euphonix Eucon protocol in 64-bit mode. The Logic Express 9.1.1 update weighs in at 139MB and addresses compatibility and numerous fixes including: - Support for 64-bit native mode - Compatibility with 64-bit Audio Unit plug-ins - File names with over 32 characters are now supported - Samples are now mapped correctly when using the "Contiguous Zones" option in the EXS editor Both Pro and Express require Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later for 32-bit mode or Mac OS X 10.6.2 or later for 64-bit mode.TUAWApple updates Logic Pro, Express originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming Just yesterday, we heard about this new Square Enix RPG due to come to the iPhone this year, and today, not only do we have official confirmation, but a first official trailer as well. And boy does it look great -- over in the console world, Final Fantasy's creators have been saying that they can't make them like they used to, because the newer HD technology just makes old-school artisanship tough to do. But a platform like the iPhone, with its built-in limits on graphical fidelity, might be just the place for the old-school vibe to live and thrive. 3D characters on 2D backgrounds? What appear to be turn-based battles against bosses and summons? A story featuring emo-haired heroes and J-pop ballads? Boy are we in. The Japanese version says "Available soon on the App Store," but we'll keep an eye on the other stores as well and let you know when this drops.TUAWChaos Rings trailer looks awesome originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App ReviewThe idea behind Set, the now-classic card/puzzle game, can be mind-numbingly difficult to explain. Some people just can't wrap their heads around the "all the same or all different concept." Of course, some people get it right away. For both types, the new Set app [$2.99] for the iPhone and iPod touch is a fine challenge, even if it's not perfect in all aspects. Here's the gist of the game: each card in the 81-card deck has between one and three images on it. These images come in three shapes (diamond, oval, and squiggly), three colors (red, green, and purple), and three levels of shading (solid, lined, and empty). Every possible combination is available on one single card. The goal is to find sets from a collection of cards laid face-up on the table. A set is any three cards where each of these four features are, independently, either all the same or all different? So, a single red solid diamond, a single green solid diamond, and a single purple solid diamond make a set (in that example, the number, shading, and shape features are all the same while the colors are all different). Also, a single empty purple squiggle, two lined green diamonds, and three solid red ovals make a set. Got that? Good. If not, click through the gallery of images from the app starting here to see how the game's designers explain things. If you want to give Set a try for free, you can try an online daily puzzle here, or download the very limited lite ve

Filed under: Software I never actually used Iris (my image editor of choice is still Pixelmator), but the one-window image editor released a few years ago certainly had its share of fans. Unfortunately, those fans may be disappointed to hear that Iris' developer, Nolobe, has suspended development on the app. Nolobe's principal Matthew Drayton says that back in 2007, when Iris started development, there were no cheap yet quality image editors, and nowadays, the app has simply become a "me too" app. He doesn't want to do that, so he's out. Fortunately, however, Iris owners aren't completely left in the lurch -- Drayton highly recommends Acorn, and anyone who currently owns Iris will be able to get a free upgrade to that app. Sad to see that a quality image editor is calling it quits, but the reasons seem legit and the transition should go smoothly. If you own Iris, watch your email for directions on how to upgrade, or contact Nolobe yourself. It's not all glum news from Nolobe: the company has a great deal going now for its flagship FTP client, Interarchy. Commemorating the two-year anniversary of an office-gutting fire (well, maybe it is kinda glum, now that we think about it), the Interarchy Fire Sale offers a steep discount on the app for the next week, along with discount codes for several other leading indie apps (including Acorn). The $19.95 Interarchy 9 licenses are valid for free upgrades to version 10 (now in beta), which adds up to a savings of almost $70. [via DF]

Filed under: WWDCIt's March. It's the month where beer turns green, where the road repair crews start taking over the midwest of the United States, and when Apple usually announces its Worldwide Developers' Conference dates. With the hotly anticipated iPad introduction this year, more devs than ever are looking forward to seeing what WWDC will have on offer. Will WWDC bring the iPhone OS 4.0 announcement and the hardware refresh that we've speculated about? Or will the iPhone OS family remain in the 3.x generation for the foreseeable future? (The current release for the iPhone and iPod touch are at 3.1.3. The iPad will ship with firmware 3.2.) That's the question that has a lot of devs scratching their head. In the past two years, March has been the time when new iPhone SDKs were provided to developers, with the actual firmware released a few months later, somewhat in sync with WWDC. This year, with the iPad release due for the first week of April, the iPhone refresh seems to have been pushed out, or even to the side. Will Apple's WWDC announcement help clarify where we stand in the iPhone lifecycle? That's hard to say. I know a lot of devs are hoping that a new beta SDK will debut sometime in April, once the iPad has been released; with the new version focusing on the iPhone, WWDC sessions would follow up on that build. It would make sense to bring the iPhone up to at least 3.2, so that firmware releases remain in sync across all iPhone OS devices; however, by Jim Dalrym

Filed under: iPad The Wall Street Journal has written that Apple is scrambling to get everything ready for the iPad's release on April 3rd -- not only has it already "sold hundreds of thousands of the device, [according to] people familiar with the matter," but Apple is also working hard to try and "nail down" several big content deals with television companies, having put their original drive for print media on hold for the moment. Not really news in and of itself, as almost everyone expects content to be a big part of the iPad's revenue, but it is a little surprising to hear that Apple is still fighting to get deals done. The WSJ says that some content owners feel that the iPad is a threat to their current revenue streams -- the same old story that we've always heard about iTunes content delivery. Of course, none of this comes directly from Apple, but they obviously wouldn't confirm if they didn't have all of the deals they wanted squared away before the device's release. The shift from print to multimedia may have something to do with it -- the iPad was originally introduced, along with iBooks, as a reader device, with the additional bonus of being able to play movies. But now that the ad has been premiered on the Oscars and a little more buzz has grown up around the multimedia possibilities, Apple may be more pressured to deliver on release day. We'll have to see -- I doubt that all of those iPad preorders will want to return their device if they can't watch all of the

Filed under: Apple A new Apple patent is going around that offers up something called "iGroups" functionality -- it seems to be a kind of location-based social networking, including an ad-hoc currency functionality between a crowd of Apple devices. It's pretty interesting, though it sounds more like an idea Apple is playing with than an actual service they're going to debut. They specifically mention rock concerts and tradeshows (including WWDC), with the plan that someone would start up a "group," and then individual group members in the same location (determined by GPS) would be able to hook into that group and/or exchange contact info or "tokens" with other members of the same group. Not quite a Foursquare or Facebook competitor (this definitely seems like a much more local service), but a new kind of ad-hoc network based on the idea that everyone in the area who is using an Apple device can connect up in new ways. The "token" idea is interesting, too -- it adds a gaming element to the situation that seems very un-Apple. That, more than anything else, is what makes me think this is Apple just covering their bases rather than securing an idea that they plan to put into action. Still, a lot of Apple's services (MobileMe, iWork, and so on) tend to be more traditional rather than innovative -- they innovate on hardware and often play catch-up on software -- they do it well, of course, but their specialty is polish, not necessarily. Diving into a newer arena like social networ

Filed under: iPad News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch was interviewed last week by Fox Business Channel. During the interview Murdoch blasts Google for stealing his content and talks about how tablet devices will reinvigorate the advertising industry for new media. As for the iPad, Murdoch states, "...all media will be coming to the iPad whether it be music, or books, or newspapers or movies" and contrasts it with the "black and white" Kindle. He imagines reading a newspaper article with a photograph in it and just touching the photograph to watch it become a video. He goes on to say that the iPad is physically "small to start with" but says "there'll be more iPads" implying that they'll eventually come in larger sizes. Even though he is one of the most important people in the media world, Murdoch's comments are most likely conjecture and not inside knowledge. Skip to 1:45 for the iPad mention. [via 9to5Mac]TUAWRupert Murdoch loves the iPad, sees everything in the world on it originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: App ReviewPhotoAvatar (US $.99) is a remarkable iPhone/iPod touch novelty app from the makers of HourFace, an app I liked quite a lot when I reviewed it a few months ago. PhotoAvatar turns a properly taken photo into any one of three alien avatars, each so realistic that it's eerie. Using a carefully taken photo snapped by the camera or taken from a photo library, you decide on which alien you want to be and the app does the rest. The picture gets transformed into an amazingly realistic 3D moving image. The result can be emailed or saved to the camera roll. But the creepiest part is watching the image on the screen. It's constantly in motion, blinking, turning, glaring and growling at you. If you swipe your finger over the image, the avatar will follow your finger. If you tap the screen, the image will stretch and audibly growl at you. If you shake the device, you'll get another animation. This app is very simple to use and limited in usefulness, but for once, I don't think that matters since the results are really something to behold. I watched an avatar without touching the screen for a few minutes and regardless of what I knew, I was just about convinced that the image was real. You really need to see this gem for yourself and a buck is a fair price to show you something that you haven't yet seen in such a realistic manner. digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Turn_Your_Friends_into_Alien_Avatars_with_Your_iPhone'; PhotoAvatar has the same limitations of H

Filed under: Steve Jobs, iPadEver wonder what tech sites Steve Jobs reads? Well, according to Silicon Alley Insider some of those sites are our very own sister site Engadget, along with Gizmodo, The New York Times Tech section, and the Wall Street Journal. SAI's source was in one of the meetings with Jobs when he visited Manhattan on his media tour with the iPad in February and he clearly saw those four sites bookmarked in Safari on Steve's iPad. The source did say that Steve had other sites bookmarked, but the ones listed above were the only ones that stuck in the source's mind. Here's hoping that one of the other ones was The Unofficial Apple Weblog.TUAWThe tech sites Steve Jobs reads originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Apple TVApple's so-called "hobby," the Apple TV, is about to receive some serious competition from apparent nemesis Google. According to the New York Times, Google is working on a set-top box that will integrate web services like Twitter and Facebook with sites like Hulu, YouTube and Google's own PIcasa. The Google TV, as the Times calls it, will be based on the Android operating system, and a toolkit will be made available to developers within the next couple of months. As for Google's partners, Sony has been tapped to develop the platform, Logitech will make peripherals and Intel will manufacture the chips. In fact, Intel recently posted job listings for Android developers who can extend technology "...from PC screen to mobile screen and TV screen." As a front end to the iTunes Store, the Apple TV does its job well. But people obviously want it to do more. As computers and TVs merge into a single device, Apple should identify a clear role for its hobby; either make it a competitor or a toy.TUAWGoogle and partners set to challenge Apple TV originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: iPad Daniel Tello, a Venezuelan blogger-analyst who writes about Apple has been tracking iPad order numbers submitted by volunteers since March 12 at 8:30 a.m. ET, when Apple began taking pre-orders for the iPad. Based on his calculations Apple passed the 180,000 unit mark on Wednesday and is now averaging about 10,000 pre-orders a day. "I think sometime during Friday, perhaps before noon, the counter should roll to 200,000 units pre-ordered," he told Philip Elmer-DeWitt at Fortune. Tello's calculations are based on a precise count of order numbers and an estimate of how many of them were non-iPad orders.Tello's estimates only include pre-orders and not iPads reserved at Apple Stores for in-store pickup. According to BoyGeniusReport, those in-store reservations averages about 700 per the 222 US Apple Stores. That's a grand total of 155,400 in-store reservations in addition to today's supposed total of 200,000 pre-orders. Not too shabby for a device that for almost all of the people ordering one have never held. If a total of almost 350,000 iPads have been pre-ordered/reserved it makes some of the lower estimates of first year iPad sales seem ridiculous. However, for now all we have to go on is these educated guesstimates. Apple won't be officially announcing any iPad numbers until their next conference call.TUAW10,000 iPad pre-orders per day originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for u

Filed under: Apple Corporate [Apple has updated its home page with the tribute above.] Apple board member Jerome York died today after reportedly suffering a brain aneurysm on Wednesday. York, 71, has been on Apple's Board of Directors since 1997. His former positions include chief financial officer at IBM and Chrysler, chief executive officer of Micro Warehouse and a vice chairman of Tracinda. At the time of his death he was the chairman, president and CEO of Harwinton Capital. York was a graduate of West Point, MIT and the University of Michigan; he started his career at Chrysler as an engineer and worked his way up to the executive suite. We offer our condolences to Mr. York's family and friends. [Via MarketWatch]TUAWApple board member Jerome York passes away originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Odds and ends, Graphic Design Got a desire to mess with some pictures you have by controlling blur or making full-sized objects look like miniatures? I've just played with some software called Tilt-Shift-Focus that mimics the way tilt shift lenses work. By artfully applying selective blur, you can make objects look they are part of a train set. There is another effect that duplicates the look of zoom movement in a still photo. There are several modes that let you define where the blur and sharpness is positioned in your image. You can also use a paintbrush tool to draw sharpness onto an image that is pre-blurred. To use the software, you manipulate control points. At first it seems very counter-intuitive, but with a little practice it starts to make sense. Of course, this software is not going to duplicate what an expensive lens can do, but I found it fun to manipulate some photos from my archives and 'miniaturize' parts of the photos. One thing I noticed was that at times loading and saving JPEG images was very slow. I also wish there was some built-in help to get you started, but the developer does have some good tutorials and a helpful videos on his website. If you are looking to do this on an iPhone check out our review here. You can also simulate this effect in Photoshop, and we have you covered there too. The software sells for US$14.99 and requires OS X 10.5 or later. It's worth a spin if you are interested in doing these kinds o

Filed under: GamingA job posting on a Japanese developer's site has hinted that Square Enix will be releasing a brand new RPG on the iPhone sometime later this year. Media.Vision has posted that they're seeking to fill a number of positions related to building an RPG on Apple's platform in conjunction with Square Enix. The Final Fantasy Ring fansite says that the game will be called Chaos Ring, and will by produced by the same team that made the popular Wild Arms console series. FFRing also says (via Japanese translation) that the game will be a 3D title, and it will feature a storyline concerning five pairs of warriors who fight to the death for the right to eternal youth. Each game stage will consist of a ring of battles with a boss in the center, and some choice in how the player takes on enemies -- more challenge for more risk. It sounds intriguing. Square Enix has been seeing some success with its older titles on the iPhone, and we know it's got a few original titles already in the pipeline for Apple's platforms. It'll be great to see what they can cook up for the App Store. [via TA]TUAWNew Square Enix RPG coming to the iPhone this year originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Apple CorporateHTC has finally responded about the patent-infringement lawsuit Apple filed against it two weeks ago. In the lawsuit Apple alleged that HTC was infringing on 20 patents concerning the iPhone user interface and the underlying hardware and architecture. "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it," Steve Jobs said. "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours." Today Jason Mackenzie, vice president of sales and marketing at HTC America replied, "We strongly disagree with Apple's actions and plan to use all the legal tools available to defend ourselves. Choice is important for customers, and healthy competition is instrumental to that." Apple's filing cites twelve HTC phones, including five Google Android handsets and seven that use Microsoft's Windows Mobile software. Apple is requesting compensation for the infringement and attorneys' fees, as well as an injunction against products and services that infringe the asserted patents. While Google wasn't named in the lawsuit they issued a statement saying they "stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it." Google declined to tell Forbes if they would assist HTC in fighting the lawsuit by lending their teams of lawyers that specialize in antitrust and IP issues. "Given the seriousness of the case

Filed under: Gaming The good folks at Joystiq got to sit down and talk with John Cook, the director of Steam at Valve, and he says there's probably no comparison to the news about Steam coming to the Mac -- it is "the biggest event in Steam's history." He says that not only is it big news for the company and its services, but that one of the goals of the service will be to "prove" to other game developers that coming to this platform is important. Like PC gaming in general, Mac gaming isn't dead, "it just needs to be attacked from more directions than retail." Too true -- while PC gaming is suffering on the retail shelves, Mac games are having those same issues many times over. And with Apple taking a larger share of the desktop pie than ever, putting Steam games on the Mac platform is a huge benefit both for game companies and their customers. Cook says he hopes that "many, if not all" of the game companies with games on Steam will eventually bring their titles over to the Mac. Good news for us. He does knock down, however, the suggestion that Valve is coming to the Mac on the way to the iPhone -- Cook says the company is focused on the Mac right now. That doesn't rule out a move to the iPhone or the iPad, but for now, Steam on the Mac is a story that's plenty big. We can't wait to see the client running in April.TUAWValve: Coming to the Mac is "biggest event in Steam's history" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST. Pl

Filed under: Developer, App Store, SDK Back in the bad old days of the App Store, it was anybody's guess when a submitted app might get blessed by Apple and show up in iTunes. It might be three days, three weeks, three months, or never. Recent improvements in the approval process have brought that time period down to a matter of hours -- but until now, there's been no way to schedule release dates for apps. Once submitted and approved, apps went straight to the App Store. Now, developers of apps for the iPhone OS have been granted new options in the iTunesConnect interface. Not only can devs set a release date for the app, they can also automate price fluctuations set to certain dates. For example, say you've created an app that you want to go live on April 15 rather than immediately after Apple approves it. This allows you to publicize the app on your site, and at an introductory, promotional price, as well. "$0.99 for the first week," you can tell potential buyers, "$2.99 after that." Through iTunesConnect, not only can you set the launch date for your app, you can also automate the price increase from $0.99 to $2.99 on April 22. And if you want to run another $0.99 promotion a month or even a year later, you can automate that, too: just set the price and the effective date for the price in the iTunesConnect interface. It's a pretty simple change to the interface, but one that opens the door to a lot of promotional opportunities for developers.TUAWiTunesConnect now allows

Filed under: Software No press release, no big fanfare, but reader Chris sent in the news earlier tonight: Amazon's long-awaited Kindle application for Mac is ready for download. The 22 MB free application works on Intel Macs running Mac OS X 10.5 and above, and reports a version number of 1.0.0 beta 1. The app has been anticipated since last October, back when the iPad was still a rumor. [Update: The press release was a couple of hours behind the software release, but 9to5 spotted it; it notes that full-text search and annotation features will be coming soon.] digg_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/17/amazon-stealthily-releases-kindle-app-for-mac-os-x/'; tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/17/amazon-stealthily-releases-kindle-app-for-mac-os-x/'; tweetmeme_source = 'tuaw'; The app allows you to download Kindle books you already own, and read them at leisure on your Mac; synchronization of your progress through the book is automatic, and will keep track with your Kindle or iPhone reading. It displays your bookmarks and highlights from your Kindle reading sessions, but doesn't let you create new highlights. You can adjust font size and line length to suit your visual acuity; turning pages is accomplished by using the scroll wheel on your mouse, or with the arrow keys. It's definitely no-frills, but it's good to see that the Mac app for Kindle reading is finally seeing the light of day, although it's too bad PowerPC and Tiger users are left out of the fun. Th

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App ReviewMost people don't buy a car but once every few years (or more). But that doesn't mean that people don't like shopping for new cars. If you're one of those kind of people, then a new app from Aol Autos*, released today, could be your new favorite toy. Basically, the App is a stripped down version of the New Cars section of the Aol Autos website. Start by entering your search parameters - price, type, style and make/model - and the app will show you all the new vehicles currently available that fit what you're looking for. If you want a new sub-$15,000 hatchback, for example, there are 18 on the market right now. How about a hybrid that costs between $15,000 and $25,000. You get your choice of six. For those lazy Sunday afternoon daydreams, you can also price options for the $1.38 million 2010 Maybach Landaulet. $12,250 for a three-place rear seat? Sign me up. Keep reading to find out more. Gallery: Aol Autos App *Aol, of course, owns TUAW. If you're only interested in new cars, the Aol Autos app is actually much easier to navigate and a cleaner design than the full site. The photo gallery - all manufacturer promotional shots - is slick and shows off most every angle or most every car. Of course, if you're all the dealership when you play with the app, then this section is less than helpful. For daydreaming about that Maybach from the office, though, it works well. Pricing, trim level and other information in the database come

Filed under: iPadAnother Tuesday, another beta...and wait one second! Today's not Tuesday, is it? Regardless, a spankin' new hot beta awaits you at the Apple iPhone dev center (developer credentials needed). As usual, the new release is under NDA. Please consult the dev center for release notes and other details. And to all you TUAW readers, Irish or not, ERIN GO BETA!TUAWiPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 5 available for download originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: AppleWe're only days away from the release of the iPad, and that means analysts are doing crazy business -- they're laying out as many predictions as they can before theory becomes actual numbers. Our friend Gene Munster is first -- he says that despite the introduction of a brand new category, Mac sales will be even better than investors expect this quarter, with a whopping 26% to 31% year-over-year growth. Apparently retail data suggests that Macs are flying off of the shelves, and that Apple should end up with almost 3 million Macs sold in the March quarter. PC sales in general are also expected to increase, with the iMac carrying a whole quarter of all desktop growth this year. Desktop sales are finally headed upwards for the first time in a few years, and along with bigger sales numbers in terms of netbooks and notebooks, Apple's iMac platform is leading the charge. International sales are also expected to drive the PC market -- if the numbers are right, this will be the first time ever that sales internationally take up 50% of the desktop PC market. Interesting predictions, all. There's no question, I think, that Apple will make plenty of money this quarter. The question going forward will be whether the iPad steals sales that would have gone to the iPhone or to a MacBook. But if the past numbers with the iPhone are any indication, big interest in the portable devices actually drives Apple's desktop sales as well.TUAWAnalysts: iMac to take over 25% of PC

Filed under: iPadWhy spend more, when you can buy iPad-friendly accessories at your local office- or art-supply store? That's the question we asked this morning at TUAW as we sent out an iPad taskforce to scan store shelves for discount iPad accessories. In the end, we found one really killer stand, a well-priced case, and a number of also-rans. Our favorite accessory turned out to be a Staples "Study Stand". Built from chrome (the non-Google variety), and retailing for just $6.99, the study stand provided both excellent portrait and landscape presentation at a user-friendly angle. It barely obscured the screen and occupied a minimum of desk space. Best of all, the stand folds. Although the holder tips remain slightly extended from the base, the rest of the stand flattens out and makes the entire package very backpack friendly. tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/17/accessorizing-your-ipad-for-cheap/'; tweetmeme_source = 'tuaw'; As a close runner-up, we found a fashionable $15 neoprene netbook case, meant for 10.2" netbooks at Office Depot. Unlike 10" netbook cases, the 10.2" styles seemed to fit our iPad mockup perfectly. The Office Depot case came in a variety of colors and clocked in on our affordability scale. You can't yet buy real Apple-sanctioned official iPad toys, but you can buy our consumer-friendly alternatives today! It doesn't have to be fugctional[1] to be iPad-ready. Gallery: Accessorizing your iPad for cheap! [1] Via TJ Luoma: "Fugly + Functi

Filed under: App StoreKaleidoVid is the latest app from David Barnard of App Cubby. Working with Layton Duncan of Polar Bear Farm and Dave Keller of rocket, David decided to have some fun and make a "delightful" app. We got to see an early demo of KaleidoVid at Macworld Expo, and have been anticipating its release. If you played with a kaleidoscope as a kid, you'll be familiar with this app. Instead of mirrors and beads, KaleidoVid makes use of the iPhone's camera. To use it, simply turn it on and point the camera in any direction, then move the iPhone until you find a pattern that you like. From there, tap the screen to put a snapshot into your Camera Roll, or share your creations with Twitter, Facebook or email. Tap the screen again to resume playing. it's surprisingly fun and more of a toy than a game (I had to pry it away from my kids). KaleidoVid is available in the App Store now for US$0.99. Check out the gallery below for screenshots and some of my better creations. Gallery: KaleidoVid for iPhoneTUAWKaleidoVid turns your iPhone into a video kaleidoscope originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

From the creators of ShoveBox, Wonder Wrap Software has just launched their new iPhone / iPod touch app Etude. Etude is a beautifully designed app that helps you learn to read and play sheet music on the piano. While the built-in synthesizer plays through a piece of music, Etude will scroll through the sheet music being read (correlating each note heard to each note read). A virtual keyboard will also display each key being pressed at the same moment each note is being read and heard. To make things even easier the playback speed can be altered so you can make sure you're hitting every note of Bach's Air! Etude comes preloaded with a few 'Scores' to get you started, but you can download (from within the app) hundreds of other songs for free from the Etude score store. Etude is certainly a novel way to develop your piano playing skills, and a fantastic application of the features of the iPhone / iPod touch for those who love music. Plus, Wonder Wrap Software is developing a version for the iPad, too. Anyone get those pre-orders in? To celebrate the release of Etude this week Wonder Wrap Software is running a promotion where you can get yourself a free copy of their desktop app SimpleChord. All you need to do is tweet. TUAWCount The Beats: Learn to read and play sheet music with Etude on your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | 

Filed under: Software, Cool toolsIf you've ever accidentally turned on your Caps Lock key and caused some trouble, Threemagination's utility CapSee may be just what you're looking for. It simply displays a bezel notification on your screen when you hit the Caps Lock key, reminding you that Caps Lock is on. It's free, and useful for anyone who might need such a reminder. Threemagination has just released the latest version of CapSee, which adds the ability to hide the menu icon and make CapSee as unobtrusive as you like. Personally, I always remap my Caps Lock key to an Option key in my System Preferences (go to the Keyboard pane and look in the lower right for the Modifier Keys button). OS X also provides a small icon in password dialogs that lets you know you've got Caps Lock on. There are, I'm sure, plenty of people who actually use Caps Lock for legitimate purposes, which is where CapSee shines. If you're suffering from Accidental Caps Lock Syndrome, give it a shot.TUAWNo more accidental Caps Lock with CapSee originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments