Thursday, March 26, 2009

Apple filing details safe touch-screen navigation system

Apple filing details safe touch-screen navigation system
An interesting but at times erratic patent filing from Apple published for the first time this week describes a proprietary in-car navigation system focused on maintaining driver safety while a vehicle is in motion.


iShoot goes 2.0, adds networked play

Filed under: , ,

When your simple-yet-addictive tank shooting game blasts its way to the top of the App Store sales charts and earns you a reasonable fraction of a cool million bucks, what do you do for an encore? Developer Ethan Nicholas has released iShoot 2.0, adding much-requested features to the $2.99 artillery battle (the free iShoot Lite remains unchanged).

The new version of iShoot (App Store) adds plenty of customization options, including a weapon designer, new rulesets and rule editor, background music -- and a local LAN network play option, allowing you to blast 3 of your friends over WiFi whenever you like. Check it out.

TUAWiShoot goes 2.0, adds networked play originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apps: iPrint, BannerZest, TextExpander
iPrint 2.0 ($15) allows users to select data within an application that they would like to print. The selection of data can be done through the use of a keyboard shortcut or a popup Dock menu and allows users to print only the material they desire to print. A new Preferences window has been added which allows users to set a default option of always displaying both the Page Setup and Print dialog b...



Eltima's Flash'in'App 2 adds customization options
Eltima Software has released Flash'in'App 2.0, an update to its Cocoa framework that enables developers to load and manage Adobe Flash movies in any application on the Mac. The software will support SWF files, manage their playback, and can handle sounds, videos, and images. The new version provides several added features that allow users to set Flash background color for playback, to customize th...



Will Artists Still Love Macs Tomorrow?
Michael Gibbs, an illustrator based in Northern Virginia, describes working on a Mac Pro in terms that suggest a Zen-like trance: "I can't explain it well, but you are not even really aware you are using a computer program -- the design applications are that intuitive." He can easily tell the difference between applications that are natively designed for the Mac -- anything Adobe -- and those that have been retrofitted for the OS X environment, such as Microsoft Word. The latter, he told MacNewsWorld, "are just plain cumbersome."

CULV notebooks to come in 15.6-inch sizes?
Systems based on Intel's CULV budget ultraportable platform may be used for systems with displays as large as 15.6 inches, sources in the industry have reportedly told DigiTimes. Intel is officially defining the typical size for one of the budget ultraportables as between 11 and 13 inches, but "several first-tier" notebook makers that include Acer, Dell and HP are all believed building ultra-thin...



iPhone App Refund Policies Could Bankrupt Developers
We reported yesterday about Apple’s alleged delay in payments to iPhone app developers, but there is more alarming news from iPhone developers about Apple’s refund policies.

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Apple drops to number two in reliability

Filed under: , ,

RescueCom is a company that provides tech support and help from a 1-800 number, and they've released the latest version of their computer reliability report. This thing is actually pretty well done -- it examines just which brands and makes of computers are getting the most support calls, and then compares it to the average US market share for each brand. For example, if XYZ brand computers are getting a lot of calls, but they're also selling like hotcakes, it won't rate quite as high as ABC brand, which is only selling a few computers, almost all of which are breaking down.

There's bad news, however, for Apple, in this quarter's report: they've fallen to spot number two. For the overall year of 2008, Apple reigned supreme in terms of reliability. But in the first quarter of this year, Asus and IBM's Lenovo have had their numbers rise above -- both of their shares of the US market are smaller than Apple's 6%, according to this report, but Apple's 2% of calls to RescueCom still means Asus and IBM/Lenovo have them beat in overall reliability. Unfortunately, they don't show us the fun side of the chart: HP/Compaq end up in the fifth spot, but their 17.9% of all the calls to RescueCom is only the fifth most reliable, not the worst.

Apple still probably doesn't have too much to worry about -- as Wired notes, these are only quarterly scores, and don't forget that this is the quarter in which many people were still learning how to use their iPhones, iPod touches, and the App Store. But this might be an early sign that as Apple grows, it'll be tougher for them to guarantee reliability in their products.

TUAWApple drops to number two in reliability originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Kena Kai debuts eco-friendly laptop sleeves
Kena Kai has announced FELTtech sleeves, a new line of laptop sleeves made from a fiber that's been created from 100-percent recycled Polyethylene Perepthalate (PET) bottles and containers. Designed initially for 13.3-inch Netbooks and 15.4-inch notebook computers, each sleeve features a wide easy-access zippered opening, and 4mm of cushioned protection to guard against scratches and scrapes. FELT...



Apple filing details safe touch-screen navigation system
An interesting but at times erratic patent filing from Apple published for the first time this week describes a proprietary in-car navigation system focused on maintaining driver safety while a vehicle is in motion.


iShoot goes 2.0, adds networked play

Filed under: , ,

When your simple-yet-addictive tank shooting game blasts its way to the top of the App Store sales charts and earns you a reasonable fraction of a cool million bucks, what do you do for an encore? Developer Ethan Nicholas has released iShoot 2.0, adding much-requested features to the $2.99 artillery battle (the free iShoot Lite remains unchanged).

The new version of iShoot (App Store) adds plenty of customization options, including a weapon designer, new rulesets and rule editor, background music -- and a local LAN network play option, allowing you to blast 3 of your friends over WiFi whenever you like. Check it out.

TUAWiShoot goes 2.0, adds networked play originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apps: iPrint, BannerZest, TextExpander
iPrint 2.0 ($15) allows users to select data within an application that they would like to print. The selection of data can be done through the use of a keyboard shortcut or a popup Dock menu and allows users to print only the material they desire to print. A new Preferences window has been added which allows users to set a default option of always displaying both the Page Setup and Print dialog b...



Eltima's Flash'in'App 2 adds customization options
Eltima Software has released Flash'in'App 2.0, an update to its Cocoa framework that enables developers to load and manage Adobe Flash movies in any application on the Mac. The software will support SWF files, manage their playback, and can handle sounds, videos, and images. The new version provides several added features that allow users to set Flash background color for playback, to customize th...



Will Artists Still Love Macs Tomorrow?
Michael Gibbs, an illustrator based in Northern Virginia, describes working on a Mac Pro in terms that suggest a Zen-like trance: "I can't explain it well, but you are not even really aware you are using a computer program -- the design applications are that intuitive." He can easily tell the difference between applications that are natively designed for the Mac -- anything Adobe -- and those that have been retrofitted for the OS X environment, such as Microsoft Word. The latter, he told MacNewsWorld, "are just plain cumbersome."

CULV notebooks to come in 15.6-inch sizes?
Systems based on Intel's CULV budget ultraportable platform may be used for systems with displays as large as 15.6 inches, sources in the industry have reportedly told DigiTimes. Intel is officially defining the typical size for one of the budget ultraportables as between 11 and 13 inches, but "several first-tier" notebook makers that include Acer, Dell and HP are all believed building ultra-thin...



iPhone App Refund Policies Could Bankrupt Developers
We reported yesterday about Apple’s alleged delay in payments to iPhone app developers, but there is more alarming news from iPhone developers about Apple’s refund policies.

Presented By:


Apple drops to number two in reliability

Filed under: , ,

RescueCom is a company that provides tech support and help from a 1-800 number, and they've released the latest version of their computer reliability report. This thing is actually pretty well done -- it examines just which brands and makes of computers are getting the most support calls, and then compares it to the average US market share for each brand. For example, if XYZ brand computers are getting a lot of calls, but they're also selling like hotcakes, it won't rate quite as high as ABC brand, which is only selling a few computers, almost all of which are breaking down.

There's bad news, however, for Apple, in this quarter's report: they've fallen to spot number two. For the overall year of 2008, Apple reigned supreme in terms of reliability. But in the first quarter of this year, Asus and IBM's Lenovo have had their numbers rise above -- both of their shares of the US market are smaller than Apple's 6%, according to this report, but Apple's 2% of calls to RescueCom still means Asus and IBM/Lenovo have them beat in overall reliability. Unfortunately, they don't show us the fun side of the chart: HP/Compaq end up in the fifth spot, but their 17.9% of all the calls to RescueCom is only the fifth most reliable, not the worst.

Apple still probably doesn't have too much to worry about -- as Wired notes, these are only quarterly scores, and don't forget that this is the quarter in which many people were still learning how to use their iPhones, iPod touches, and the App Store. But this might be an early sign that as Apple grows, it'll be tougher for them to guarantee reliability in their products.

TUAWApple drops to number two in reliability originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Kena Kai debuts eco-friendly laptop sleeves
Kena Kai has announced FELTtech sleeves, a new line of laptop sleeves made from a fiber that's been created from 100-percent recycled Polyethylene Perepthalate (PET) bottles and containers. Designed initially for 13.3-inch Netbooks and 15.4-inch notebook computers, each sleeve features a wide easy-access zippered opening, and 4mm of cushioned protection to guard against scratches and scrapes. FELT...


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