Author: Blancer

NetNewsWire is, as Second Gear’s Justin Williams says, “the elder statesman of the Mac OS X platform.” Brent Simmons’ newsreader has appeared on countless “must-have” app lists, and was one of the most treasured pieces of Mac software since even before anyone outside of Cupertino knew the iPhone was going to exist. On the third birthday of his app Today, Williams takes a nice look at NetNewsWire, both how it has worked visually over the years, and how it has grown along with the platform and stayed relevant for so long.

The app originally started as MacNewsWire — there were only a few set Mac news feeds, and no Safari, WebKit, or Core Data implementation (because those things, you know, didn’t actually exist yet). Over the years, the app has both grown and become more tightly focused, aimed at both what users have requested and of course Simmons’ own vision of what the app is supposed to be.

We’ve talked with Simmons before about translating the app over to iOS, but this is an excellent look back at NetNewsWire’s history, and a great guide for how to keep a Mac app strong and popular for a long time.

A visual history of NetNewsWire originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pocket Legends, I maintain, is one of iOS’ best technical achievements. It’s a full-featured MMO, in the style of the legendary World of Warcraft, available to play for free on Apple’s App Store. It’s huge among a certain audience (and in fact I’ve been told that audience is even bigger on the Android side of things), but I’m surprised that even more players haven’t tried this game out and see what Spacetime Studios is working on.

Maybe this will help, though: to celebrate the game’s one-year anniversary, Spacetime is opening up many of its normally premium content areas to all players for free. In a goofy video they made, developer Cinco Barnes says that all of the game’s major premium areas will be open and playable to everyone until May 4.

If you haven’t taken a look at this app yet, now’s a great time to do so. Pocket Legends is free in a universal version, and definitely worth checking out.

Pocket Legends offers paid content for free originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen has a new book out titled Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft. In it you can find all sorts of muckraking publishers love to have in a biography they paid too large of an advance on. The book has already generated a lot of Internet talk based on the fact that it has supposedly created a rift between Allen and Bill Gates. But besides Microsoft drama, the book also reveals a few interesting tidbits about Steve Jobs.

In the book Allen remembers an incident between Steve Jobs and an employee, which demonstrates what a jerk Jobs is, according to Allen. In Allen’s retelling, both he and Bill Gates drove down to meet with Steve Jobs and Apple developer Andy Hertzfeld for a demo of the first Mac. But when the four sat down around the Mac and it promptly froze Jobs was quick to unleash his anger and belittlement on Hertzfeld:

“What the fuck is going on?” [Jobs] snarled at Hertzfeld, who’d probably been up all night getting things ready and was now trying to shrink under the table. “These guys came all the way down here to see this thing and this is the best we can do? This is the best we can do? We get thirty seconds and a frozen screen? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Allen goes on to say that he had forgotten about the incident until he saw it portrayed in Pirates of Silicon Valley years later. Allen says that the movie, where Jobs was played by Noah Wyle, portrayed Jobs as a “mean-spirited jerk,” something Jobs apparently had no problem with. Next time Allen saw Jobs, he asked him if he liked the movie. Jobs’ response: “I thought the guy who played me did a fantastic job.”

[via BusinessInsider]

Steve Jobs thought Noah Wyle did a “fantastic job” playing him in Pirates of Silicon Valley originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dr. Macenstein found these awesome old-school Apple playing cards, featuring logos from the olden days of Mac OS 7, adopted for a standard playing card deck layout. There’s no word on just what the origin of these is — if they’re official or unofficial — but supposedly they’ve been seen on eBay for up to $150 before.

The pack seen in the pictures was on sale but has since been purchased, so you’ll have to hunt down your own copy if you want one for yourself. The rest of us will have to just sit back and enjoy the designs on this. I wonder what a playing card deck using iOS or even app icons would be like.

Mac OS 7 logos turned into playing cards originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some fascinating statistics have been released by comScore based on its MobiLens marketing analytics service, and the numbers show that iOS devices (including the iPad and iPod touch) outreach the Android platform by a whopping 59% in the U.S. market.

The comScore numbers show a total installed base of 37,868,000 iOS users in the United States, with Android OS devices lagging behind with only about 23,763,000 users. Those numbers come out to 16.2% (Apple) and 10.2% (Android) respectively for share of the total U.S. mobile subscriber market. The installed US base of iPhones and iPod touch devices were almost equal, with both device totals approximately twice as high as the number of iPads. That statistic is amazing, considering that the iPad had only been on the market for 10 months at the time that the study was performed.

comScore’s senior vice president of mobile, Mark Donovan, noted that the numbers indicate that “the Apple ecosystem extends far beyond the iPhone,” and that the assumption that the Apple user base is made up of “Apple fanboys” is invalid. [Was anyone assuming that? We doubt it. -Ed.]

The comScore study also show that iPad owners aren’t necessarily owners of iPhones. While iPhone owners make up about 27% of iPad owners, close to 14% of iPad owners had Android phones. The numbers also show that Samsung, LG, and Nokia are over-represented among iPad owners in comparison to their shares of the smartphone market.

The age demographic for the iPad was a final index created by comScore, and it showed that the age profile is skewed mostly towards those in the 25-34 year old age range. Almost half of iPads are sold to Americans between the ages of 25 and 44, with another 30% of the Apple tablets going to the older U.S. demographic over the age of 45. These numbers should be of interest to iOS developers, who may want to start creating apps for an older audience.

iOS outreaches Android when iPod touch, iPad are counted in the mix originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If supplies of certain iMac models are any indication, a refresh of Apple’s all-in-one iMac may be in the works. This would be the first update of the iMac line since July 27, 2010, when the Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 machines first became available.

9to5 Mac is reporting that supplies of the desktop machine are constrained worldwide at this time. An anonymous tipster provided the blog with the screenshot seen at the top of this post, showing four standard versions of the iMac in constrained status with “no ETA” for new shipments.

Not only are iMac shipments constrained, but even replacement parts are currently in short supply. Graphics processors and hard drives are particularly hard to get in the U.S.

As we reported at the end of March, any upcoming iMac refresh would most likely migrate the platform to Intel’s powerful Sandy Bridge processors, as well as the speedy Thunderbolt I/O standard that debuted in the recent MacBook Pro refresh. At that point, we speculated that the refresh would come in late April or early May, and that timeframe looks more valid every day.

If you’re considering the purchase of a new iMac, you may want to put off that purchase for a month or so to benefit from any refresh of the line.

iMac supplies constrained, indicating possible refresh soon originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After being introduced to the US market on March 11th, it’s still not easy to get your hands on an iPad 2. D.L. Horton decided to do something about it, which lead to FindOne, a free iOS app that checks the online inventory of Target and Walmart to see what they have in stock.

Depending upon your criteria — such as AT&T or Verizon, color, storage capacity, or Wi-Fi only — you enter your zip code and up pops a listing of what’s in stock, along with addresses and phone numbers of the stores. Since inventory levels change minute by minute, you are strongly advised to call the stores and find out if the results are accurate and perhaps to reserve an iPad 2.

I called a few stores and found the app to be fairly accurate. It’s not perfect by a long shot, but it’s a great way to start your search. I live in a heavily populated area and got a lot of results, some of them as far as 45 miles away and some as close as only four miles. The site mentions that Best Buy inventory will soon be added to the app.

Yes, it would be nice if the app contained all vendors of iPad 2s, but first, it’s free (advertising-supported) and second, it’s anyone’s guess whether the other vendors have an online inventory system that FindOne can tap into. It’s basic, but I think that FindOne has the potential of helping out some frustrated would-be buyers.

FindOne for iOS helps you get your hands on an iPad 2 originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Popular cloud file syncing service Dropbox, much beloved by TUAW, has been in the news lately. On the one hand, it announced it had hit a new high of 25 million users, which is a number which is both pleasingly big and pleasingly round. On the other hand, it has been the target of some strongly worded criticism for its security features — or, more accurately, problems with them.

The most recent of these criticisms arose from an update to the Dropbox Terms of Service to state that if the government asks, it will hand over your files:

As set forth in our privacy policy, and in compliance with United States law, Dropbox cooperates with United States law enforcement when it receives valid legal process, which may require Dropbox to provide the contents of your private Dropbox. In these cases, Dropbox will remove Dropbox’s encryption from the files before providing them to law enforcement.

This isn’t terribly surprising, although on first glance it might sound awful. Consider the alternatives. If Dropbox receive a legally binding subpoena in a criminal case demanding the release of data, what else could anyone expect them to do except hand the data over, right?

Continue reading Dropbox under fire for security concerns

Dropbox under fire for security concerns originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ITC weighed in on the infringement complaint Apple filed against HTC and Nokia and decided the two handset manufacturers are not liable for infringing on Apple’s patents.

In the Monday hearing, Apple accused HTC of infringing five Apple patents that focus on the “seamless integration of hardware and software.” The patents describe methods for signal processing and inter-process communications. Nokia allegedly infringes on one of these signal processing patents. Apple sought a ban on the import of HTC’s Android handsets as well as select Nokia devices.

This initial ruling is a setback for Apple, but not the end of the line. The full six member ITC commission still has to review the case and rule on this initial decision. The commission has the opportunity to reverse this decision, but this initial ruling often weighs heavily in the commission’s final decision.

Apple could always opt to do what Nokia did when the ITC ruled against the Finnish company in its complaint with Apple. A few days after the ITC ruled against Nokia, the Finnish company filed a second infringement complaint against Apple that focused on seven new patents.

ITC rules in favor of HTC and Nokia in Apple infringement case originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Onion, one of our favorite sources for fake news. Has done a talking heads analysis of whether the unemployed should buy Apple computers. In typical Onion fashion, they miss the point — on purpose of course.

The consensus? Of course the unemployed should buy Apples! You can do graphic design and look cool at Starbucks. The only person with a semi-reasonable point winds up getting tossed off the show for knowing nothing about the problem.

As one analyst mentioned: “I didn’t know that we’d be drinking the Apple Kool-Aid here.” For a good dose of said Kool-Aid, check out the video either on the free Onion app, or on the next page.

Continue reading Should unemployed Americans buy Apple gear? The Onion weighs in

Should unemployed Americans buy Apple gear? The Onion weighs in originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Need an Entourage of Sopranos to entertain you while you manage a Boardwalk Empire with your Band of Brothers? Starting in May, HBO subscribers will be able to enjoy “instant and unlimited access to the best HBO has to offer” using an iPad, iPhone, or Android device. Time Warner subsidiary HBO, one of the leading premium television networks in the U.S., posted a teaser video promoting the upcoming mobile app on YouTube late last week.

HBO began offering streaming services to its subscribers in February, 2010. Today, HBO GO, which offers about 1,400 titles from the network’s library of movies and original TV series, can be accessed only from a desktop or laptop computer using a Flash-enabled web browser. Expected to arrive on May 2, the iOS and Android apps will further extend HBO’s reach beyond the television… ironically, two years after the network ditched the long-running “it’s not TV, it’s HBO” slogan.

Now, it’s time to Curb Your Enthusiasm. Access to HBO GO is limited to customers who subscribe to HBO through a traditional cable television service provider. If you want to enjoy True Blood on your iPad, you’ll need to sign up for television service and subscribe to HBO through Comcast XFINITY TV, Verizon FiOS, Cox Advanced TV, AT&T U-Verse or DirecTV. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes insists the premium network has no current plans to allow customers to cut The Wire and put the cable bill Six Feet Under with an option to subscribe directly to the HBO GO service.

For now, by bringing its streaming Extras to the iPad, iPhone, and Android, HBO is giving its approximately 28 million subscribers one more way to avoid being Bored to Death while on the go. Continue reading to watch the official teaser video for the HBO GO mobile app.

[via TiPb]

Continue reading HBO GO app to bring Tony Soprano to your iOS device

HBO GO app to bring Tony Soprano to your iOS device originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chimei Innolux Corp. is joining TPK Holding Corp. and Wintek Corp. as the third provider of touch panel sensors for the Apple iPad 2. Chimei will begin supplying the panels next month, Bloomberg said. TPK and Wintek will still be the primary suppliers of the touch panels, but Chimei’s contribution will help Apple meet the growing demand for its popular tablet device.

Demand for the iPad 2 is “amazing”, Apple’s spokesperson Trudy Miller said. The tablet device flew off retail store shelves when it launched earlier this year and demand has been high ever since. Despite being available in several retail channels including Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and Best Buy, the iPad 2 is still difficult to find in stores, and the wait time for online orders is still two to three weeks.

Incidentally, this deal with Chimei will help solidify Apple’s position with Foxconn, the primary assembler of the iPhone and iPad. Chimei was formed last year when Foxconn-owned Innolux Display merged with Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., and TPO Displays Corp.

Apple adds third supplier of iPad 2 touchscreen components originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Happy Tuesday!!! Dave is a nice boyfriend who purchaed an AirPort Extreme for his girlfriend’s birthday in order to help her. While the Extreme solved her printing/backup issues, he wanted to know about playing music through it.

Today we discuss the different AirPort base stations and show Dave his options.

Any questions? Please leave them in the comments or email us. Read on for the video.

Continue reading Ask TUAW Video Edition: Airport Breakdown!

Ask TUAW Video Edition: Airport Breakdown! originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone’s favorite and always accurate source, “analysts,” have been jumping up and down over the past few days saying, “You guys! You guys! Seriously! Apple’s making an HDTV! I’m serious, you guys, it’s coming out later this year!”

This is another one of those Rumors that Just Won’t Die, right alongside such perennial zombie products as an Apple-branded phone and an Apple-branded tablet — wait, those products actually exist? Hmm. Well, does that mean the analysts are on to something? Or are they just on something?

Speculation has run wild over this whole Apple HDTV issue, with half the interested parties saying there’s absolutely no way Apple will make its own HDTV, ever, and here’s the charts and data to prove it, so there. The other half has instead wondered what exactly an HDTV from Apple might be like, and as usual, the feature wishlists exploded into Star Trek fanfiction territory by the end of the afternoon. Starry-eyed wishers have started throwing out phrases like, “Apple will re-define the TV,” and “Apple will free us from the tyranny of the cable box” — all without any proof of the product’s existence, or any realistic notions of its specs, features, price, distribution channel, ad infinitum.

Will Apple make an HDTV? At this point I’d say the safe bet is no, but keep in mind that Apple’s not exactly a company that’s built on safe bets. Lots of people thought the Macintosh would fail in 1984. Instead, it re-invented how the general public interacted with computers. In 2001, Apple introduced the iPod, a product that Slashdot famously dismissed as “lame,” and changed how people interact with music. The iPhone and iPad are still sending shock waves through their respective industries. Apple does have a history of stepping into established spaces with existing products and turning the whole thing on its head, but the question is, what can you do to a TV to make it more than a TV?

Continue reading Apple HDTV vs. Apple TV HD

Apple HDTV vs. Apple TV HD originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A few months ago, we reported on how Apple rejected the Sony Reader app from the App Store, seemingly singling out the electronics and media company for punishment when similar apps like Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook readers for iOS were untouched.

Sony appears to have decided to follow the old maxim that “if you at first don’t succeed, try, try again,” since they have had a new app for iOS approved by Apple. The free Crackle app gives access to hundreds of movies in the Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics, and Tri-Star libraries, as well as thousands of TV series episodes.

Available for free are movies like Ghostbusters, series like Seinfeld and Married … With Children, and The Three Stooges. According to Crackle’s App Store description, you can build and manage your viewing queue on the app or online, and video streams over Wi-Fi and 3G. More new movies and TV episodes will be added on a regular basis.

So how is Sony making money on this? There are short ads that appear during the video, but most reviewers in the App Store are saying that they’re so short that they’re almost unnoticeable. It’s a free app with free content, no subscription fee, and good quality, so it looks like a winner.

[via MacStories]

Sony’s Crackle app for iOS approved by Apple originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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