Thursday, April 2, 2009

iPhone app roundup: Quickoffice, Otto Matic, Evernote 2

iPhone app roundup: Quickoffice, Otto Matic, Evernote 2

Filed under: ,

In the hustle and madness of yesterday's wayback machine activity, there were a couple of App Store introductions (and a notable upgrade) that might have slipped through...

First up: The long-awaited version of Quickoffice for iPhone that allows editing of Word and Excel files hit the store today and was demoed at CTIA. [Looks like the new Quicksheet is available now, but the full bundle and the Quickword standalone app aren't on sale yet as of Thursday morning.] While QO has had a 'mobile files' tool on the iPhone for a while now, this is the first build of the venerable portable office suite (which has been a favorite on Palm handhelds for years) that can do editing in both formats.

Quickoffice for iPhone can do font formatting and cut, copy and paste within Word documents -- presumably to be tied in with system-wide C/P in the OS 3.0 world-to-come. Both the Excel and Word tools will support landscape mode for extra editing area.

Files on the iPhone can be transferred off the device using WiFi to a local Mac, or straight to a MobileMe account. Quickoffice for iPhone is shipping now for an "introductory price" of $19.99, but if you just want the Excel spreadsheet editor (formerly MobileFiles Pro) you can have it for $12.99; the Word document editor is also $12.99. Quickoffice Files (previously known as MobileFiles 2.0) is $3.99 and offers similar file transfer capability to Readdle and other file managers. We're getting a review copy for a more thorough walkthrough later this week. It's worth noting that a Microsoft exec hinted at a version of Office itself for the iPhone that may be coming sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Second... who doesn't love a good robot game? For $4.99, you can now dive into Pangea's classic Otto Matic series with the company's new title for iPhone, Otto Matic: Alien Invasion. The B-movie style game pits Otto against the attacking Brain Aliens from Planet X; his job is to save as many humans as possible. Otto Matic: Alien Invasion features 10 levels and 25 different enemies, multiple weapons and activities, and quite a bit of fun.

Lastly, the TUAW top pick Evernote has been updated with a nifty landscape mode, thumbnail viewing, improved performance, favorites sorting, and an embedded web browser to reduce the tap a link --> Safari --> back to home screen --> scroll around --> relaunch Evernote loop-the-loop annoyances. Evernote 2.0 for iPhone remains a free download, and the basic Evernote service is also free; a year of pro-level service costs $45.

TUAWiPhone app roundup: Quickoffice, Otto Matic, Evernote 2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Latest iPhone Developer Agreement Bans Jailbreaks
The "iPhone Developer Program License Agreement" governs what iPhone developers can and cannot do. Now, jailbreaking, assisting in jailbreaking, and developing and distributing jailbreak apps are among the things that the latest revision of that agreement does not condone.

Apple proposes iPhone that calls security agency when stolen
In the latest installment of Apple's iPhone security-related patent filings, the Cupertino-based company describes the implementation of loss prevention software that would notify a security agency in the event the handset is lost or stolen, which could in turn lead to a police officer being dispatched to the current location of the device based on GPS coordinates.


More Apple Snow Leopard, Final Cut, Xserve rumors hit the web
A well-read overseas Mac blog is using April Fools Day to drop a payload of unconfirmed rumors on the Apple community regarding release dates for Snow Leopard, Final Cut Studio 3, new Xserves, and even a future generation of Mac notebooks.


TUAW 2016

Filed under: , , , , ,

Good afternoon, and welcome to your daily brainload from TUAW, a division of Weblogs, Inc. owned by Comcast Online. Please make sure the neural connector is clicked in all the way, and then think "Start" when you are ready.

Steve Jobs returns to Apple's Board of Directors after stint at GM
Steve Jobs announced his return to Apple today after a government-mandated stint as CEO of General Motors. Obama White House spokesperson Ruth Christopher stated that since Jobs had saved the American auto company with the introduction of the extremely popular flyCar, he could return to his usual duties. Apple executives released a statement saying they were "overjoyed" to have Jobs back on the job.

New MacBooks and Mac mini appear on Apple Store site
Apple has quietly updated its legacy line of personal computers, adding exabyte molecular hard drives and gigacore nanoprocessors without raising the prices. Fans, unfortunately, were unimpressed with the updates -- "my implants can move faster than that," John Gruber transmitted to his brainload feed, along with a TwitFeeling of disappointment and anger. But Apple defended the updates, stating that the new computers were "perfect for the older member of your family who still need their hardware in the box, rather than out of it." Anyone who has purchased one of the older units in the past six months (if there are any of you out there still buying hardware) can be eligible for an exchange at any Apple center.

MobileMe announces record number of subscribers
Over three billion people have subscribed to Apple's MobileMe service since its reintroduction two years ago, according to a new study transmitted by analysts NPD. Apparently people love the fact that they no longer have to carry an iPhone, a laptop, or any hardware at all, as MobileMe now works directly with tiny processors implanted into your head to bring you brainloads, news, TwitFeelings, and the Webview over the cloud directly into your visual and memory cortexes.

"People really love not having to deal with devices or pesky buttons," said an NPD analyst. "MobileMe allows them to connect directly into the ethersphere, leaving them open to do or think or feel anything while anywhere." The price of the system was also lauded as one of the reasons it's so popular. Apparently after the big economic meltdown in 2010, Apple's customers are thrilled to get a full-service communication package for just over a billion dollars a year. "MobileMe has never been so worth it," said longtime user Dave Caolo.

Apple announces event next Tuesday: "Go ahead. Take a guess, suckers."
Press outlets around the brainsphere have recieved invites from Apple for an event next Tuesday in Chicago's Willis Tower (up until two years ago, events like this were held in San Franscisco at the Moscone Center, but of course the unfortunate earthquakes and flooding in 2014 mean that all of California is currently underwater). Rumors are flying about what might be announced at the event, but Apple hasn't given any indication of what there might be -- in fact, the invite itself features a question mark, and the text: "Take a guess, suckers. You still haven't gotten it right."

Most brainloaders have speculated that the event may finally feature the debut of the long-awaited iTablet, or maybe, finally, the reveal of The Beatles unenhanced audio recordings into the iCollective. Either way, TUAW won't be there: we still haven't gotten an invite. But we will, as usual, be providing Mike Schramm's unfiltered thoughts on the event live as it happens. Remember to make sure your children are unplugged at the time.

TUAWTUAW 2016 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sling rains on its own parade

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Last week we were pretty excited that the new Slingplayer app for iPhone had been submitted to Apple for approval. Now it seems, the folks at SlingMedia are determined to really get a large percentage of their customers angry about forcing them to have the latest Slingbox hardware in order to be compatible with the iPhone/ iPod touch app.

A page on the SlingMedia website suggests owners of older Sling hardware get an upgrade because the new iPhone software "and future services yet to be announced will only be supported for customers using Slingbox SOLO, Slingbox PRO and Slingbox PRO-HD products or forthcoming SlingLoaded products." That still leaves a lot of the older hardware a no-go, and that older hardware worked well with the SlingPlayer Mobile app on other cellphones, including those running on Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Palm and the Symbian OS.

Our sister site, Engadget, reports that they've been told that previous builds of the app worked just fine with the older hardware, so this may just be runaway greed and avarice at SlingMedia.

In my post last week I said that Sling users would be circling Apple HQ with torches and pitchforks if Apple did not approve the SlingPlayer Mobile iPhone app. Now those people might want to gather in Foster City, California to let the execs at Sling know that they don't want to be forced into an upgrade that is likely not needed.

Our thanks to various readers who sent this in.

TUAWSling rains on its own parade originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple exploring motion-adaptive Mac OS X interface elements
As rumors swirl over Apple's plans instate changes to the Mac OS X user interface with this year's release of Snow Leopard, a newly discovered filing shows the company has been exploring the use of user interface elements that change their appearance based on movement.


iPhone 2.2.1 SDK on a PPC Mac

Filed under: , , ,

There's a great tutorial at Apokalypse Software for getting the iPhone 2.2.1 SDK working on a PPC Mac (up until now, doing development for the iPhone meant getting an Intel-based Mac). It takes some work, but nothing that will pose a problem for most developers. Before you begin, remember that you must have 6GB of disk space available. Also, if you've tried to install the SDK on your target volume before, you'll have trouble until you uninstall Xcode with /Library/Developer/3.1/uninstall-devtools.

If you don't want to go through the hassle, you can buy an installer for just $5. As a guy who still uses his G4 iMac, I understand the appeal of using an older Mac.

TUAWiPhone 2.2.1 SDK on a PPC Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Search App for iPhone Lessens Rolodex Frustration
How many phone numbers do you know by heart anymore? I think I've got about two committed to memory, not counting my own or 9-1-1. My iPhone, on the other hand, is stuffed with phone numbers, street addresses, email addresses, alternate emails, notes, companies, birthdays and phonetic pronunciations of first names. If you sync your iPhone to a cloud service like MobileMe or Google, you might have an email address for almost everyone with whom you've ever exchanged a message.

iPhone app roundup: Quickoffice, Otto Matic, Evernote 2

Filed under: ,

In the hustle and madness of yesterday's wayback machine activity, there were a couple of App Store introductions (and a notable upgrade) that might have slipped through...

First up: The long-awaited version of Quickoffice for iPhone that allows editing of Word and Excel files hit the store today and was demoed at CTIA. [Looks like the new Quicksheet is available now, but the full bundle and the Quickword standalone app aren't on sale yet as of Thursday morning.] While QO has had a 'mobile files' tool on the iPhone for a while now, this is the first build of the venerable portable office suite (which has been a favorite on Palm handhelds for years) that can do editing in both formats.

Quickoffice for iPhone can do font formatting and cut, copy and paste within Word documents -- presumably to be tied in with system-wide C/P in the OS 3.0 world-to-come. Both the Excel and Word tools will support landscape mode for extra editing area.

Files on the iPhone can be transferred off the device using WiFi to a local Mac, or straight to a MobileMe account. Quickoffice for iPhone is shipping now for an "introductory price" of $19.99, but if you just want the Excel spreadsheet editor (formerly MobileFiles Pro) you can have it for $12.99; the Word document editor is also $12.99. Quickoffice Files (previously known as MobileFiles 2.0) is $3.99 and offers similar file transfer capability to Readdle and other file managers. We're getting a review copy for a more thorough walkthrough later this week. It's worth noting that a Microsoft exec hinted at a version of Office itself for the iPhone that may be coming sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Second... who doesn't love a good robot game? For $4.99, you can now dive into Pangea's classic Otto Matic series with the company's new title for iPhone, Otto Matic: Alien Invasion. The B-movie style game pits Otto against the attacking Brain Aliens from Planet X; his job is to save as many humans as possible. Otto Matic: Alien Invasion features 10 levels and 25 different enemies, multiple weapons and activities, and quite a bit of fun.

Lastly, the TUAW top pick Evernote has been updated with a nifty landscape mode, thumbnail viewing, improved performance, favorites sorting, and an embedded web browser to reduce the tap a link --> Safari --> back to home screen --> scroll around --> relaunch Evernote loop-the-loop annoyances. Evernote 2.0 for iPhone remains a free download, and the basic Evernote service is also free; a year of pro-level service costs $45.

TUAWiPhone app roundup: Quickoffice, Otto Matic, Evernote 2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Latest iPhone Developer Agreement Bans Jailbreaks
The "iPhone Developer Program License Agreement" governs what iPhone developers can and cannot do. Now, jailbreaking, assisting in jailbreaking, and developing and distributing jailbreak apps are among the things that the latest revision of that agreement does not condone.

Apple proposes iPhone that calls security agency when stolen
In the latest installment of Apple's iPhone security-related patent filings, the Cupertino-based company describes the implementation of loss prevention software that would notify a security agency in the event the handset is lost or stolen, which could in turn lead to a police officer being dispatched to the current location of the device based on GPS coordinates.


More Apple Snow Leopard, Final Cut, Xserve rumors hit the web
A well-read overseas Mac blog is using April Fools Day to drop a payload of unconfirmed rumors on the Apple community regarding release dates for Snow Leopard, Final Cut Studio 3, new Xserves, and even a future generation of Mac notebooks.


TUAW 2016

Filed under: , , , , ,

Good afternoon, and welcome to your daily brainload from TUAW, a division of Weblogs, Inc. owned by Comcast Online. Please make sure the neural connector is clicked in all the way, and then think "Start" when you are ready.

Steve Jobs returns to Apple's Board of Directors after stint at GM
Steve Jobs announced his return to Apple today after a government-mandated stint as CEO of General Motors. Obama White House spokesperson Ruth Christopher stated that since Jobs had saved the American auto company with the introduction of the extremely popular flyCar, he could return to his usual duties. Apple executives released a statement saying they were "overjoyed" to have Jobs back on the job.

New MacBooks and Mac mini appear on Apple Store site
Apple has quietly updated its legacy line of personal computers, adding exabyte molecular hard drives and gigacore nanoprocessors without raising the prices. Fans, unfortunately, were unimpressed with the updates -- "my implants can move faster than that," John Gruber transmitted to his brainload feed, along with a TwitFeeling of disappointment and anger. But Apple defended the updates, stating that the new computers were "perfect for the older member of your family who still need their hardware in the box, rather than out of it." Anyone who has purchased one of the older units in the past six months (if there are any of you out there still buying hardware) can be eligible for an exchange at any Apple center.

MobileMe announces record number of subscribers
Over three billion people have subscribed to Apple's MobileMe service since its reintroduction two years ago, according to a new study transmitted by analysts NPD. Apparently people love the fact that they no longer have to carry an iPhone, a laptop, or any hardware at all, as MobileMe now works directly with tiny processors implanted into your head to bring you brainloads, news, TwitFeelings, and the Webview over the cloud directly into your visual and memory cortexes.

"People really love not having to deal with devices or pesky buttons," said an NPD analyst. "MobileMe allows them to connect directly into the ethersphere, leaving them open to do or think or feel anything while anywhere." The price of the system was also lauded as one of the reasons it's so popular. Apparently after the big economic meltdown in 2010, Apple's customers are thrilled to get a full-service communication package for just over a billion dollars a year. "MobileMe has never been so worth it," said longtime user Dave Caolo.

Apple announces event next Tuesday: "Go ahead. Take a guess, suckers."
Press outlets around the brainsphere have recieved invites from Apple for an event next Tuesday in Chicago's Willis Tower (up until two years ago, events like this were held in San Franscisco at the Moscone Center, but of course the unfortunate earthquakes and flooding in 2014 mean that all of California is currently underwater). Rumors are flying about what might be announced at the event, but Apple hasn't given any indication of what there might be -- in fact, the invite itself features a question mark, and the text: "Take a guess, suckers. You still haven't gotten it right."

Most brainloaders have speculated that the event may finally feature the debut of the long-awaited iTablet, or maybe, finally, the reveal of The Beatles unenhanced audio recordings into the iCollective. Either way, TUAW won't be there: we still haven't gotten an invite. But we will, as usual, be providing Mike Schramm's unfiltered thoughts on the event live as it happens. Remember to make sure your children are unplugged at the time.

TUAWTUAW 2016 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Sling rains on its own parade

Filed under: , , ,

Last week we were pretty excited that the new Slingplayer app for iPhone had been submitted to Apple for approval. Now it seems, the folks at SlingMedia are determined to really get a large percentage of their customers angry about forcing them to have the latest Slingbox hardware in order to be compatible with the iPhone/ iPod touch app.

A page on the SlingMedia website suggests owners of older Sling hardware get an upgrade because the new iPhone software "and future services yet to be announced will only be supported for customers using Slingbox SOLO, Slingbox PRO and Slingbox PRO-HD products or forthcoming SlingLoaded products." That still leaves a lot of the older hardware a no-go, and that older hardware worked well with the SlingPlayer Mobile app on other cellphones, including those running on Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Palm and the Symbian OS.

Our sister site, Engadget, reports that they've been told that previous builds of the app worked just fine with the older hardware, so this may just be runaway greed and avarice at SlingMedia.

In my post last week I said that Sling users would be circling Apple HQ with torches and pitchforks if Apple did not approve the SlingPlayer Mobile iPhone app. Now those people might want to gather in Foster City, California to let the execs at Sling know that they don't want to be forced into an upgrade that is likely not needed.

Our thanks to various readers who sent this in.

TUAWSling rains on its own parade originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple exploring motion-adaptive Mac OS X interface elements
As rumors swirl over Apple's plans instate changes to the Mac OS X user interface with this year's release of Snow Leopard, a newly discovered filing shows the company has been exploring the use of user interface elements that change their appearance based on movement.


iPhone 2.2.1 SDK on a PPC Mac

Filed under: , , ,

There's a great tutorial at Apokalypse Software for getting the iPhone 2.2.1 SDK working on a PPC Mac (up until now, doing development for the iPhone meant getting an Intel-based Mac). It takes some work, but nothing that will pose a problem for most developers. Before you begin, remember that you must have 6GB of disk space available. Also, if you've tried to install the SDK on your target volume before, you'll have trouble until you uninstall Xcode with /Library/Developer/3.1/uninstall-devtools.

If you don't want to go through the hassle, you can buy an installer for just $5. As a guy who still uses his G4 iMac, I understand the appeal of using an older Mac.

TUAWiPhone 2.2.1 SDK on a PPC Mac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Search App for iPhone Lessens Rolodex Frustration
How many phone numbers do you know by heart anymore? I think I've got about two committed to memory, not counting my own or 9-1-1. My iPhone, on the other hand, is stuffed with phone numbers, street addresses, email addresses, alternate emails, notes, companies, birthdays and phonetic pronunciations of first names. If you sync your iPhone to a cloud service like MobileMe or Google, you might have an email address for almost everyone with whom you've ever exchanged a message.

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