Blancer.com Tutorials and projects

Apple is planning on opening its first retail store in Sweden, according to Markets.se [Google translation]. While Market.se doesn’t cite their source, a recent Apple job listing for a Payroll Supervisor in Stockholm lends additional credence to an upcoming Swedish Apple store. Besides the Market.se report and the job listing, there’s not a lot known about the Swedish Apple store.

It’s likely that it will be located in the capitol of Stockholm. Apple does always like having its first store stand out, so it’s probable that it will be in a renovated historic or aesthetically pleasing modern building in a high-traffic area. Apple just opened its 325th retail store in Lyons, France and plans to open a total of 40-50 stores in fiscal year 2011, which ends in September.

Apple reportedly prepping first Apple Store in Sweden originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rovio’s next big plan for Angry Birds is to add in some location-based features, according to GigaOM, with a platform they’re calling Angry Birds Magic. The platform will use location-based information on a number of different smartphones (including, presumably, the iPhone, though there’s some reference in the plan to near-field communications, which of course the iPhone hasn’t yet included), allowing players to use where they are to both unlock new content, as well as compete locally on leaderboards for a certain area. Rather than do what an app like MyTown has done and try to spread the content around to everywhere, Rovio says it’s planning to be more strategic, using certain locations and certain features to try and monetize the game and engage the audience (like providing specials at a certain retailer during a sale, or other ideas like that).

The company is also planning a brand new app called Wine and Dine (no kidding), as well as an Angry Birds cookbook (featuring egg recipes, of course). Wine and Dine will still be in the Angry Birds universe, but will supposedly be “more about the pigs.”

Rovio also reportedly has more new games on tap (including some that aren’t Angry Birds related), so it sounds like they’re keeping busy up in Finland.

Angry Birds creators plan new game, location-based platform originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

In this interview, Neil Ticktin of MacTech talks to Bare Bones Software co-founder Rich Siegel about the WWDC keynote, and also potential issues with the Mac App Store going forward. Bare Bones produces BBEdit, TextWrangler and Yojimbo (see our coverage of Yojimbo here and BBEdit here).

TUAW and MacTech Magazine teamed up to speak to developers at WWDC 2011 about the keynote announcements and how Apple’s new technologies will help them and their customers. We’ll bring you those videos here, MacTech.com and MacNews.com. Also, check out the free trial subscription offer for MacTech Magazine here.

WWDC Interview: Bare Bones Software originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Although the displays on the iPad and iPad 2 are pretty darned nice, TUAW readers and bloggers alike have wished for a Retina display-like screen on our magic tablets. Now a tipster at TechUnwrapped has pointed out that several images found in Newsstand — an iOS 5 feature — and the Twitter framework are suggesting a possible higher-resolution display for an upcoming iPad 3.

The screen resolution on existing iPads is 768 x 1024 pixels, and in previous versions of the iOS SDK screen backgrounds and other images were sized accordingly. The tipster has found evidence of images at twice the size — 1536 x 2048 pixels — suggesting that the next generation of iPad might include a display with that resolution.

What do you think, TUAW readers? Will the iPad 3 come with double the resolution? Let us know in the comments.

[via Ars Technica]

iOS 5 for iPad images suggest higher-resolution display originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

BBC’s iPlayer is set to begin the first phase of its global rollout later this summer, according to The Guardian. The first phase of the rollout will target Western European countries and cost subscribers around €7 (US$10) a month, though the exact price is yet to be decided. Last December we told you that a subscription-based iPlayer was coming to US markets. That is still happening, but the BBC is first using a Western European rollout to make sure they get the service right before expanding it to other countries. There is no firm date on the US launch yet.

BBC’s iPlayer is an online “catch up” service in the UK that allows anyone in the country to view streaming video of the shows that aired on the BBC in the last week. The subscription-based BBC iPlayer will be different, however. It will not be a “catch up” service. Instead it will offer viewers “collections of programmes covering genres such as music, comedy, documentaries and natural history,” according to The Guardian. Shows like Doctor Who and Fawlty Towers will be available to watch, but other popular shows like the soap EastEnders probably won’t be available. It’s also possible viewers will be able to watch past mini-series like How TV Ruined Your Life, also known as the most important television show in the history of mankind.

BBC iPlayer app to launch outside UK this year, Western Europe first originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Today’s TUAW TV Live is designed to impart a lot of information in one hour, and to get my current obsession with iWeb replacements out of my head for good.

In case you’re wondering why I’ve been writing so much about iWeb lately, it’s because I’ve written three editions of a book about the Apple website creation tool for Take Control Books. Naturally, I started getting a lot of questions from readers of both TUAW and my book about what they should do if iWeb and MobileMe hosting disappear from the face of the Earth. Between thinking of answers to these questions and having a wealth of information from a community college class that I teach, I figured it was a good time to create a treasure trove of web and video resources for reference in the future.

I’ll be demonstrating and discussing a variety of website design and hosting options today on the show, so if you have even a slight interest in the topic, be sure to join in or watch the recorded show later.

Below, you’ll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.

If you’re driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you’re stuck in traffic, please don’t — keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application. If you’re on an iPad, you should be able to use the Skyfire Browser to watch the stream, although you will not be able to participate in the chat.

We’ll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you’re seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you’ll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the new TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

TUAW TV Live: More website design options than you can shake a stick at originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

The wait is over and the Adonit Writer first-generation iPad keyboard case is now available. You can order one for US$99.99 right now from Amazon or from Adonit directly. Hurry though, the Writer will only be available at that price until July 10 — after that Adonit will raise it to the full price of $109.99.

Still waiting for the iPad 2 version? It’s coming along nicely. Adonit is nearing production on it and hope to ship it to Kickstarter backers early next month. It will be available after they finish fulfilling the Kickstarter orders.

If you read my recent review of the keyboard case for the iPad you know that I was overwhelmingly positive about the Writer. Having now spent a couple of weeks with it, I adore it even more than I did when I wrote the review. It goes everywhere my iPad goes and it frees me from having to bring along a laptop whenever I might need to write anything substantial. I also appreciate the flexibility to be able to comfortably type while sitting without a desk or a table. Your millage might vary depending on how you like to sit.

Adonit Writer is avaliable now originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

There is absolutely no shortage of alarm clocks for the iPhone, but I have recently tried and really like Talking Weather Alarm. Yes, it wakes you up to a variety of alarm sounds or anything from your playlist, but it also reads the local weather forecast to you and gives you a smattering of news headlines. The app has a light price tag of just US$0.99.

Talking Weather Alarm is far preferable to those sometimes flaky hotel wake-up calls and the other iPhone alarms that get you out of bed but don’t do as good a job of keeping you informed.

The app has a variety of colors and clock faces, and works in either landscape or portrait view. Leaving the app running all night can suck your battery, so it’s a good idea to have your iPhone plugged in and charging. The weather info comes from Yahoo, and uses location services to figure out where you are. News sources include providers from the US, the UK, Germany and France. The app comes with a variety of sounds (40) for alarms. They will ring even if your iPhone is running something else. If you want to use your own music, leave Talking Weather Alarm in the foreground.

No app is perfect, and here are some of my suggestions for improvement. First, Yahoo weather is pretty inaccurate in my testing. The developer says he will add more sources for getting the weather. There are plenty of news providers and categories, like business and sports, but you can only choose one. I’d like to get brief news headlines, maybe some baseball news and some tech news. As of now that is not possible. The computerized voice is certainly adequate, but like all similar apps, it suffers from some pronunciations that it has trouble parsing. If you touch the weather symbol on the app home screen you will get a nice forecast, but it isn’t wide enough to properly display temperatures above 99.

Even with the caveats, this is a great little alarm app that will certainly improve. I still really like Night Stand for the iPad, but Talking Weather Alarm is great for both travel and sitting right next to your bed at home. If you want to try it, there is a free version that won’t let you choose your own music or change clock colors. You may have your own favorite alarm clock app, so feel free to share it with us in the comments.

Talking Weather Alarm is great for summer travel and your nightstand originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

TUAW and MacTech Magazine teamed up to speak to developers at WWDC 2011 about the keynote announcements and how Apple’s new technologies will help them and their customers. We’ll bring you those videos here, at MacTech.com and at MacNews.com. Also, check out the free trial subscription offer for MacTech Magazine here.

Neil Ticktin of MacTech spoke to Widget Revolt about their apps, the keynote and WWDC 2011 in general. Widget Revolt has a game, a utility and a joke app on the store with more to come.

WWDC Interview: Widget Revolt originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Uninstalling apps on a Mac is easy — just delete the program from your Applications folder. But what about all the garbage of ancillary files that gets left behind? Zap ’em with AppZapper.

AppZapper is an uninstaller that does everything for you and makes sure nothing is left behind. It’ll find things like Services menu entries, preference files and any other small files not stored in the .app file.

Simply drag-and-drop the application you want shot of, AppZapper will then show you what it’s found and move it all to trash when you hit the “Zap!” button.

AppZapper also has a more advanced program finder feature that lists all the programs you have installed that are ready for removal. It doesn’t stop short of programs either — Preference Panes, Dashboard widgets and plug-ins are all fair game.

For those apps you want to keep, AppZapper also includes a “My Apps” feature. Simply drag-and-drop apps into a collection pane, and it will then create app “cards,” on the back of which you can store license information and other things. Handy for keeping all your registration information in one place for those apps not in the Mac App Store.

If you’re constantly installing and uninstalling applications on your Mac, an app like AppZapper is a Godsend. It’s quick, easy, and most of all, effective. There’s a free trial available on the AppZapper website that gives you five free Zaps, so it’s certainly worth a try. Once you’ve tried it and liked it, the app will set you back US$12.95.

TUAW’s Daily Mac App: AppZapper originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Imagination Technologies, makers the PowerVR graphics processor found in the iPhone and iPad, has announced that its next generation PowerVR Series 6 architecture has been licensed by six lead partners: ST-Ericson, Texas Instruments and MediaTek. The remaining three partners are yet to be announced.

Whilst not giving any firm details, an Imagination Technologies press release says that the next generation GPU (codenamed “Rogue”) will deliver “unrivaled GFLOPS per mm2 and per mW for all APIs,” with “a smooth migration path for developers upgrading applications optimized for Series5 to the new architecture.”

Since Apple has a 9.5% stake in the chip manufacturer, and being that Apple uses PowerVR GPUs to handle the graphics in current iOS devices, we can assume that Apple is among the unannounced Rogue partners.

However, it’s unlikely we’ll see this new GPU in Apple’s iOS products anytime soon. With the iPad 2 utilizing the current PowerVR Series 5 architecture (said to boost graphics performance by nine times in comparison with the original iPad), and the next generation iPhone 5 reportedly in final testing before its introduction this year, we’ll probably only see the benefits of the Series 6 GPU in the following generation iPad and iPhone. But we can always hope.

For the full press release, hit the source link.

[Via AppleInsider]

Next generation iPad / iPhone GPU licensed to other manufacturers originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

OK, I’m sorry if I have been stuck on the theme of website creation lately, but the TUAW inboxes have been inundated with emails from readers who are concerned about the probable demise of iWeb.

One of our readers, Mickey, wrote to say that “I’m a former Mac user who was forced to switch to PC and has since come back to the Mac. In the interim, however, I have created a personal webpage (mostly for family). I’ve got hosting and a domain and all that, and I have coded it in Microsoft FrontPage. The way I see it, I have two options 1) use Boot Camp or VMWare Fusion to continue writing the webpage in FrontPage or 2) find a Mac program that might be at least relatively amenable to importing the HTML code from FrontPage.”

Mickey wanted to redesign his website in iWeb, but had concerns about the future viability of the app. For that reason, and the fact that being able to edit his existing website on the Mac would keep him from having to do a complete reboot of the site, I figured he needed a Mac replacement for FrontPage — a Windows application that has been abandoned by Microsoft.

I’ve compiled a list of ten possible candidates to replace FrontPage with lovely Mac goodness. FrontPage was one of the first WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) website tools that allowed you to design a page by moving elements around while it handled writing the HTML code behind the scenes. If you’re looking into a way to move to Mac but still need to keep up a website that you originally created in the dreaded Land of Windows, then you’ll find this list of Mac HTML editors to be very useful.

1) Panic Coda (http://www.panic.com). Coda probably has a lot more sophistication than most casual website designers need, but it will read existing HTML files and let you also add CSS style sheets. There’s a free trial download available on the Panic website. Update: Several astute commenters pointed out that Coda is not a WYSIWYG editor. Instead, it’s a full-powered text and code editor with the ability to display a preview of your edited work.

2) Kompozer (http://www.kompozer.net). This is a branch of the abandoned Nvu Open Source HTML editor that has been updated fairly regularly and is free. Never used it, so I can’t vouch for it. The screenshot below is for the Windows version, but the user interface for the Mac edition is similar.

3) Flux (http://theescapers.com). Flux (£69.95) is a fairly powerful CSS / Javascript / HTML editor, with a free trial download. Once again, I’ve never used it — but if you want to update your site into HTML5 goodness for the future, it’s probably a good way to go. Potential Flux users shouldn’t be worried if they don’t know much about CSS, as the application is a wonderful way to get your feet wet in terms of style sheets. There’s a very thorough Quick Start Guide available for download as well.

4) W3C Amaya (http://www.w3.org/Amaya/User/BinDist.html) If you want a tool that will let you both browse and author web pages, the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) has a freebie editor available for download. For former FrontPage users, this app seems appropriately low-key and quite simple to use.

5) Mozilla SeaMonkey (http://www.seamonkey-project.org/) Made by the folks who created Firefox, SeaMonkey is not only an HTML editor, but has a lot of built-in Internet tools including a web feed reader, IRC chat client, etc. Update: The most recent version of SeaMonkey was delivered only five days ago.

6) Adobe Contribute (http://www.adobe.com/products/contribute.html) Back in the early 2000s, I had several sites that had been developed in FrontPage and needed to be maintained. Macromedia Contribute was a powerful tool, although sometimes frustrating. It’s $199, and might be a bit of overkill for many casual users in terms of price and capability.

7) Freeway Express (http://www.softpress.com/products/freewayexpress/) Freeway Express is a wonderful Mac HTML editor with a surprisingly complete feature set. It’s $69 for this low-end version, or you can upgrade to the even more powerful Freeway Pro ($229) if you need more capabilty. Trial versions of each are available for download.

8) Adobe Dreamweaver (http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver.html) This is the design tool for professionals. It has a steep learning curve and an equally steep price tag ($399), but for a top-of-the-line web design package, Dreamweaver is the choice.

9) Quanta Gold (http://www.thekompany.com/products/quanta/) Considering that the web page for this app shows that it is now “Mac OS X ready”, it looks like it hasn’t been updated for a long, long time. There is a free demo version available for download, and the price if you decide to buy it is $39.95.

10) BlueGriffon (http://www.bluegriffon.org/) A free WYSIWYG content editor based on Mozilla’s Gecko rendering engine. Free is always good!

Update: Before anyone asks where RapidWeaver and Sandvox are, note that although they do have the capability to edit RAW HTML, they’re both predominantly used to design new websites from scratch using built-in templates and then maintain those sites. Those two solutions were covered in my previous post, “Ten ways to replace iWeb and MobileMe hosting.”

Also, you may wish to look at several other editors, some of which aren’t really WYSIWYG, but are favorites of some of the bloggers here at TUAW:

Hype sells for $29.99 in the Mac App Store and is an amazing HTML5 WYSIWYG editor. Created by two ex-Apple engineers, it’s gaining rave reviews and can be used to create animated websites.

HyperEdit ($9.99) is another package from the Hype developers. It’s a code and text editor in the same vein as Coda. Very similar to HyperEdit is Taco HTML Edit ($24.99), which has a component library that can add amazing features to an HTML document.

MacRabbit’s Espresso was a huge miss on my part. It’s also a code editor more than a true WYSIWYG tool, and it’s available from the MacRabbit website for $79.99.

As usual, if you have a favorite Mac WYSIWYG HTML editor and wish to let other readers in on your personal choice, leave a comment below. Good luck, Mickey!

Ten WYSIWYG HTML editors for Mac OS X (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple’s support web page has been re-designed with several large, easily-clicked and tapped areas, less text and a more product-centerd focus. Here’s a brief look at what’s new.

The most obvious change is the page’s layout. The text-heavy sidebars are gone from the main page, as is the “All Products…” drop-down menu. Now, a horizontal row of products dominates the top of the page. Support pages for the Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes and “other products” are a tap away.

Additionally, links to “Video Tutorials” and “Downloads” have been given a more prominent location, joining the “Manuals,” “Tech Specs” and “Communities” jump off points from the previous design. Those pages are well-designed, too. For example, the Video Tutorials page features seven videos (as of this writing), presented in large, clickable squares. Here’s a comparison of the old support page (left) vs. the current design.

The new layout is well-suited for iOS devices. Each main section is large enough to be tapped without zooming on the iPhone, and on the iPad actually resembles the iPad-powered information kiosks running in Apple Stores.

Most of the information is the same, but the layout is much more tap-friendly. Try it out and let us know what you think.

Apple updates support page with more “tap-friendly” layout originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

A few days ago, I published a list of ways that iWeb users could host their content away from MobileMe or move to other alternatives. Today on TUAW TV Live, I’ll be demonstrating some of those alternatives for the audience.

Whether you’re looking at RapidWeaver as a replacement for iWeb, want a WYSIWYG HTML editor to maintain an existing iWeb site, or are thinking about moving to a web-based content management system like WordPress, I’ll cover it this afternoon. I’ve used a lot of these tools over the years, so I’ll give you my take on each of the apps or services as well.

As usual, I’ll be starting the show at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT / 10 PM BST) sharp, and we’ll take a few minutes to chat before the demos start. To join in on the chat and watch the live streaming video, drop by TUAW about five minutes before the start time to get your instructions on how to participate. If you’re unable to join us for the show, remember that you can always subscribe to the video podcast and watch the show at your leisure in iTunes or any other favorite podcatching app. The past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.

TUAW TV Live at 5 PM EDT: Alternatives to iWeb demoed originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Dear Aunt TUAW,

The “Purchased” area added to the iPhone “App Store” will show you every app you have ever bought, including the accidental purchase you’ve made.

I love that I can re-download anything I have bought in the past, but there are a few apps I want to permanently remove (throw-away) from my “purchased” area.

I just feel as though I am no longer in control of what I own.

Do you see Apple ever giving consumers the option to completely remove apps?

Best wishes,

Sean

Dear Sean

I really don’t see this happening as it would introduce a whole new category of customer requests on the iTunes customer service staff, and require the infrastructure to support those requests. If it did happen, Auntie imagines that it could work like this.

Imagine right-clicking an app in iTunes. In addition to the “Get Info” and “Show in Finder” options, iTunes could offer to “Remove from purchase history.” Once selected, iTunes would ask for confirmation: “Are you sure you want to do this? We will send you a link so that you can re-enable this feature later.” iTunes would remove any errant purchases from your history, like the copy of “iFartz: Supreme Flatulence” that Auntie downloaded while on a late-night liniment binge.

Or, even easier, Apple could add more controls to the iCloud side of things, offering an iCloud config that lets you choose what apps to offer and what apps to forget. And it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if you could keep violent games and other apps meant for adults out of your kids’ iPods.

“iFartz: Supreme Flatulence” is probably going to follow Auntie around forever.

Warmly,

Auntie T.

Dear Aunt TUAW: How do I make iTunes forget my apps? originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments