Sway releases a free version

Sway releases a free version

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Developer

If you haven't yet tried Sway, the game from Illusion Labs and ReadyFireAim, now's the perfect time to do so. They've released a free version of the game that limits you to three levels and just two characters, but it's enough to try out the really unique control scheme. Back when I first posted about the game, I hadn't tried it yet, but it's now been on my iPhone for about a month, and it's excellent. Each of your thumbs is a "hand" on your characters (i.e., to grab something with your left hand, in game, you just touch your thumb to the left side of the screen), and then once you've grabbed something, you can swipe that thumb back and forth to sway the character around. It gets pretty complex, but practice makes perfect, and a few stages in, you'll be swinging from grip to grip with the greatest of ease.

The full version still costs $4.99, and if you enjoy the free version, I highly recommend it: there are many more characters that you can pick up and choose from, and the stages actually get really tough, as there's a lot of precise swinging that you'll have to do to explore the whole area and find everything there is to find. Sway might be a sleeper hit for the iPhone -- it took me a little while to figure it all out, but once I did, I found a control scheme that's delightfully original. If you haven't tried it out yet, definitely take advantage of the free version.

TUAWSway releases a free version originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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11 Cool Things You Can Do With Your Macbook
In the first part of “Utilize Your Mac SMS” series, we discussed a SMS-based application to prevent Macbook theft. Now we will discuss other cool applications utilizing the Sudden Motion Sensor feature of Mac laptops.

Will Snow Leopard's UI be darker, slimmer?

Filed under: Rumors, Apple, Snow Leopard

We're just a few months away from WWDC (I guess, Apple hasn't announced dates yet, and the delay might stem from pinning down a release date for iPhone OS 3.0) but the speculation on Snow Leopard is in full swing. Developers have had builds of Snow Leopard for a while now, but according to AppleInsider there are some interface tweaks that have yet to be unveiled.

VentureBeat posits the new look in Snow Leopard might already be in place with some apps -- take a look at the scroll bars and darker trim in iTunes 8 or iPhoto '09. This could be a harbinger of UI's to come, or it could be the sort of UI schizophrenia Apple has suffered from in the not-so-distant past. AppleInsider goes further, creating a mockup of what QuickTime in Snow Leopard might look like. To me, it looks a lot like Windows Vista.

As always with Apple, we'll just have to wait until they show us to be certain. Even then it's a bit of a moving target. No doubt they will announce all the features and shiny new look of Snow Leopard to much fanfare, and there will be much rejoicing.

[Via VentureBeat]

TUAWWill Snow Leopard's UI be darker, slimmer? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 3.0 Wish List: Accessory-Powered Apps We Want
Forget copy-and-paste. The real seed of innovation planted in the upcoming iPhone 3.0 upgrade is the OS's ability to interact with special accessories via Bluetooth and the dock connector.

Star Trek prequel coming to the iPhone

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Multimedia, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

I have no idea how much of this is spoilers, but if you want to walk into this summer's Star Trek movie with a completely blank slate of expectations, you should probably move on to the next post. Spoilers ahead!

Ok then. Apparently J.J. Abrams, who's directing the new Star Trek movie, has worked with some comic book creators to (get this) bring a prequel of the prequel to the small screen before it appears on the big one. Whew. They're releasing a series of iPhone apps, which are actually "mini-comics" telling the pre-story of the movie. And here's where it gets really confusing (and spoilerific): apparently, while the movie is a prequel featuring a young Kirk and Spock, the story's villian is actually a time-traveler from Star Trek: TNG times. Which means the iPhone comics actually star Picard and his TNG crew, and tell the story of the movie's villian, a Romulan named Nero. I originally though the film was a non-canon reboot of the series, but no -- apparently even though we've never seen this era on film before, it is still mean to fit right in the Federation's universe.

Still with us and interested? You actually are a Star Trek fan! (I prefer Star Wars myself.) The comics are going for 99 cents each (you can apparently pick up the same comic in print for $3.99), and are available in the App Store right now.

TUAWStar Trek prequel coming to the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firmware update for the Macbook pro 17"

Apple has posted a firmware update for the owners of MacBook Pro 17" of their graphics card. It regulates the problem of graphic corruptions if they used the Geforce 9600M intensively.

http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacBook_Pro_Graphics_Firmware_Update_1_0

Sway releases a free version

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Developer

If you haven't yet tried Sway, the game from Illusion Labs and ReadyFireAim, now's the perfect time to do so. They've released a free version of the game that limits you to three levels and just two characters, but it's enough to try out the really unique control scheme. Back when I first posted about the game, I hadn't tried it yet, but it's now been on my iPhone for about a month, and it's excellent. Each of your thumbs is a "hand" on your characters (i.e., to grab something with your left hand, in game, you just touch your thumb to the left side of the screen), and then once you've grabbed something, you can swipe that thumb back and forth to sway the character around. It gets pretty complex, but practice makes perfect, and a few stages in, you'll be swinging from grip to grip with the greatest of ease.

The full version still costs $4.99, and if you enjoy the free version, I highly recommend it: there are many more characters that you can pick up and choose from, and the stages actually get really tough, as there's a lot of precise swinging that you'll have to do to explore the whole area and find everything there is to find. Sway might be a sleeper hit for the iPhone -- it took me a little while to figure it all out, but once I did, I found a control scheme that's delightfully original. If you haven't tried it out yet, definitely take advantage of the free version.

TUAWSway releases a free version originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

11 Cool Things You Can Do With Your Macbook
In the first part of “Utilize Your Mac SMS” series, we discussed a SMS-based application to prevent Macbook theft. Now we will discuss other cool applications utilizing the Sudden Motion Sensor feature of Mac laptops.

Will Snow Leopard's UI be darker, slimmer?

Filed under: Rumors, Apple, Snow Leopard

We're just a few months away from WWDC (I guess, Apple hasn't announced dates yet, and the delay might stem from pinning down a release date for iPhone OS 3.0) but the speculation on Snow Leopard is in full swing. Developers have had builds of Snow Leopard for a while now, but according to AppleInsider there are some interface tweaks that have yet to be unveiled.

VentureBeat posits the new look in Snow Leopard might already be in place with some apps -- take a look at the scroll bars and darker trim in iTunes 8 or iPhoto '09. This could be a harbinger of UI's to come, or it could be the sort of UI schizophrenia Apple has suffered from in the not-so-distant past. AppleInsider goes further, creating a mockup of what QuickTime in Snow Leopard might look like. To me, it looks a lot like Windows Vista.

As always with Apple, we'll just have to wait until they show us to be certain. Even then it's a bit of a moving target. No doubt they will announce all the features and shiny new look of Snow Leopard to much fanfare, and there will be much rejoicing.

[Via VentureBeat]

TUAWWill Snow Leopard's UI be darker, slimmer? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone 3.0 Wish List: Accessory-Powered Apps We Want
Forget copy-and-paste. The real seed of innovation planted in the upcoming iPhone 3.0 upgrade is the OS's ability to interact with special accessories via Bluetooth and the dock connector.

Star Trek prequel coming to the iPhone

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Multimedia, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

I have no idea how much of this is spoilers, but if you want to walk into this summer's Star Trek movie with a completely blank slate of expectations, you should probably move on to the next post. Spoilers ahead!

Ok then. Apparently J.J. Abrams, who's directing the new Star Trek movie, has worked with some comic book creators to (get this) bring a prequel of the prequel to the small screen before it appears on the big one. Whew. They're releasing a series of iPhone apps, which are actually "mini-comics" telling the pre-story of the movie. And here's where it gets really confusing (and spoilerific): apparently, while the movie is a prequel featuring a young Kirk and Spock, the story's villian is actually a time-traveler from Star Trek: TNG times. Which means the iPhone comics actually star Picard and his TNG crew, and tell the story of the movie's villian, a Romulan named Nero. I originally though the film was a non-canon reboot of the series, but no -- apparently even though we've never seen this era on film before, it is still mean to fit right in the Federation's universe.

Still with us and interested? You actually are a Star Trek fan! (I prefer Star Wars myself.) The comics are going for 99 cents each (you can apparently pick up the same comic in print for $3.99), and are available in the App Store right now.

TUAWStar Trek prequel coming to the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Firmware update for the Macbook pro 17"

Apple has posted a firmware update for the owners of MacBook Pro 17" of their graphics card. It regulates the problem of graphic corruptions if they used the Geforce 9600M intensively.

http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacBook_Pro_Graphics_Firmware_Update_1_0