AppStore is on the way. How much are you willing to pay?
Apple’s iPhone-based AppStore is sure to debut sometime in the next month or two. My guess is that it will launch at WWDC, with select close partners at the launch and then a general opening to the rest of the third-party developers. I’d be quite surprised if AppStore launched and allowed immediate access to everyone who wanted to post an application for sale.
(Via (TUAW).)
Filed under Apple, apple apps, interesting, iPhone
After some exhaustive research invested by one iSmashPhone, it seems like that now-infamous “Enable 3G” screen shot supposedly lifted from a recent iPhone firmware 2.0 beta was mocked up.
The spirit of the shot mercifully lives on, though, seeing how the existence of the underlying preferences to support the enabling of 3G data has been independently verified in the code — we just don’t know exactly what form that preference is going to take in the user interface. Bottom line: fret not, there’s still a 3G iPhone on the way, it’s probably going to be here within mere weeks, and odds are you’ll be able to control whether high speed is enabled, just like virtually every other 3G phone on the market. So if you’re looking for a random reason to crack open a celebratory beer right now, well, there you have it. Drink responsibly.
(Via Engadget.)
Aperture Plug-in Developer Releases Beta IPhoto Plug-ins
Ubermind, a company that has been developing Aperture plug-ins for Apple’s professional photography market for the past two years, has released a few new plug-ins for iPhoto.
Ubermind said they are brining the same technology they use for their high-end plug-ins to Apple’s consumer application. The iPhoto plug-ins are all currently in beta, but are available for download.
Currently the company is offering four plug-ins for users to test. Plug-ins include GalleryExport for iPhoto: exports to and helps manage Gallery installations; UberUpload for iPhoto: adds FTP and SFTP exports to iPhoto; iPhoto to Picasa Web Albums: uploads files to Google’s Picasa Web Albums; and iPhoto to Archive: bundles photos into popular archive formats including .zip and disk image.
The plug-ins are available from the Ubermind beta Web site.
(Via PC World.)
Filed under Apple, interesting
3G iPhone in Stores 10 Days after WWDC 08
Yesterday Gizmodo reported that the 3G iPhone announcement is “confirmed” for June 9th, start of the WWDC 08.
Today InfoSync reports that they overheard at a carrier phone launch event that the Apple 3G iPhone would be in stores about ten days after Steve Jobs’ keynote at the WWDC 08.
That would result in a June 18th or 19th release date for the 3G iPhone in the United States. These dates match the apparently blocked vacation time at AT&T for the 3G iPhone.
(Via I4U News.)
Many Tricks · Name Mangler
If you need to rename several files at once every now and then, this is the application you have always been looking for. Name Mangler is a batch file renamer that supports all common renaming tasks: Find and Replace (including support for regular expressions); Number Sequentially; Change Case; Set Extension; Add Prefix/Suffix; Remove/Insert Characters.
(Get it HERE.)
Filed under Apple, apple apps, cool stuff, Free
MacNN | Apple sued over use of ‘Mighty Mouse’ name
Apple is facing a new lawsuit over its Mighty Mouse peripheral, reports say. The case was filed in Greenbelt, Maryland by a company called Man & Machine, which is accusing Apple of violating a trademark associated with its own Mighty Mouse device, an optical mouse designed to be waterproof and chemical-resistant for use in environments such as labs and hospitals. Crucially, M&M began selling its product in 2004, over a year before Apple’s device went on the market.
Also targeted in the lawsuit is CBS, one owner of the original Mighty Mouse cartoon that both Apple and M&M use as inspiration. Although the cartoon dates back to 1942, M&M says that CBS improperly licensed the trademark to Apple, as CBS’ limited ownership does not actually cover computer devices. M&M and CBS are currently engaged in an approval battle at the US Patent and Trademark Office, where the former is arguing that it actually began use of the name before CBS”
(Via macnn.)
Filed under Apple, interesting
New iTunes ad featuring Coldplay
Last night, Apple released a new ad for iTunes featuring Coldplay. This ad takes the silhouette ads to the max with a beautiful Leopard/space-esqe background and Coldplay singing their new song, Viva la Vida. Once again, this ad was featured during an episode of American Idol, which seems to have been a weekly occurrence through the Idol season.
You can see this video by going to Apple’s iPod + iTunes site and scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking “Watch the new TV ad,” or you can use the direct link (.mov link).
(Via (TUAW).)
Filed under Apple, interesting, iTunes
Survey: 74% of US Americans say NO to in-flight calling, YES to data
In a Harris Interactive survey of 2,030 US adults of whom, 1,778 have actually flown in an airplane, a full three quarters say that cellphone usage on airplanes should be restricted to “non-talking features.” In other words, email, texting, and surfing the Web. That’s a pretty significant majority seeing as how the EC has cleared the way for calls within European airspace. 69% of consumers agreed that if voice calls are permitted, a special “talking zone” should be established so that other passengers are not interrupted. While the survey reflects our own opinions, take note that the results benefit sites like Yahoo! Mobile, the very company which commissioned the survey. It’s also worth highlighting a comment made by a certain Miss Teen, South Carolina who said, “That some US Americans should be unable to do so, because, uh, some-a people out there in our nation don’t have cellphones, and such as, maps.” Good point.
(Via Engadget.)
Filed under daily news
Hollywood Shoots Itself In The Foot Yet Again With Netflix Set-Top Box
A great read from Timothy Lee:
When I started reading CNet’s write-up of Roku’s new Netflix set-top box, I was beginning to think that the movie industry might finally be getting its act together. The price ($99) seemed reasonable, and the subscription rate (as little as $8.99/month) seemed about right. After years of missteps, I thought, maybe they were finally starting to figure out this Internet thing. Then I read this sentence: “Thanks to Hollywood’s byzantine licensing system, less than 10 percent of Netflix’s 100,000-plus library of titles is available for streaming to the Player.” Even worse, only two of Netflix’s 100 most popular movies are available for streaming. It’s almost as if Hollywood doesn’t want its customers’ business.
Apparently, three other manufacturers, including LG, are working on competing set-top boxes. They should be careful not to put all of their eggs in the Netflix basket, given that Netflix may or may not succeed in getting the studios to release more of their titles. And as we’ve said before, the last thing the video streaming market needs is yet another pointless standards battle. What’s needed is an open platform that supports free and paid downloads from a variety of different sources. Some of the Netflix boxes will reportedly include DVD or Blu-Ray drives, which is a smart move. Device makers should also be exploring more open content-delivery options, either in conjunction with existing video sites like YouTube, or developing a new, open platform where anyone can share their videos. In the long run, a lot of video business models will likely involve giving away free content, and a company that provides the set-top boxes for delivering that free content is likely to make a bunch of money. That market will grow especially fast if Hollywood continues its campaign to make its content as difficult to purchase as possible.
(Via Techdirt.)
Filed under daily news, interesting
Claire Beale on Advertising – Claire Beale, Comment – The Independent
Lined up in Jonathan Ive’s studio in Cupertino, California are four chunky Black Pencils. That’s capital B and capital P, because these are no ordinary pencils. They are incredibly rare D&AD Black Pencils. There are few creative awards more jealously coveted than a D&AD pencil. Yellow pencils can be career makers. But the elusive Black Pencil is a marker of creative genius.
Last week Ive won two more of them, one for the iMac, one for the iPhone. He’s already got four. So now the senior vice-president of industrial design at Apple is a D&AD record breaker. Six Black Pencils, more than anyone else, ever, and in less than 10 years. Beat that Juan Cabral, creator of Cadbury’s Gorilla and Sony Balls.
D&AD, as you’ll have read elsewhere in this paper, is one of the most important dates in the creative industry calendar, and it’s one of the few events to unite the creative talents of the advertising and design industries.
Because for Ive perhaps the world’s most revered product designer D&AD matters, the people at Apple call me up. Would I like to talk to Jonathan? They don’t say it, but it’s a rare honour.”
More HERE
Filed under Apple, geek, interesting
aGEEKspot 
You must be logged in to post a comment.