Kensington SecureBack case keeps iPads safe

Kensington extended its range of computer security products by introducing a new SecureBack case for the iPad 2. The case cradles the iPad 2 and provides it with a ClickSafe Security Anchor that’s used on Kenisngton’s other protective products.

The product targets companies that are handing out iPads to their employees and want to prevent the loss of sensitive data. The cases are also designed to provide access to all the ports, speakers and buttons. It does appear to add some bulk to the slim profile of the iPad, but its a necessary tradeoff for increased security. Pricing for the entry level SecureBack case starts at US$49.99.

Show full PR text

Kensington Delivers the Next Level of Physical Security for iPad 2
Extends the ClickSafe[TM] Family of Security Products to Protect iPads[TM] In Public Environments
Redwood Shores, Calif. – September 14, 2011 – Kensington Computer Products Group, a worldwide computing accessories provider for the mobile professional, today introduced a new line of ClickSafe(R) enabled security cases for the iPad 2. The new SecureBack[TM] Case uses Kensington’s smart. safe. simple.[TM] ClickSafe(R) technology to secure the iPad and prevent device and data theft.

The loss or theft of an iPad can result in severe consequences for users who rely on them-from lost productivity to replacement costs. The most serious compromise is the loss of sensitive personal and business data residing on iPad devices. Gartner projects that 80% of businesses will support a workforce using tablets by 2013 and Kensington’s smart. safe. simple.[TM] approach to iPad 2 security ensures a smart first line of defense for tablet users wherever they go.

Kensington’s family of SecureBack cases features a unique three-piece design with a patent- pending rail system that quickly and easily secures the iPad to prevent theft. The case includes the world-class ClickSafe Security Anchor that enables iPad users to easily lock their tablet, in just one click. Designed to complement the iPad in every way, SecureBack preserves the tablet’s celebrated, slim form factor. SecureBack offers full access to the iPad 2’s ports, speaker, and cameras. The integrated security bar on each case can tilt the iPad for an ideal on-screen typing angle.

Kensington has introduced two versions of the SecureBack case. The first features one-click security in a sleek form factor ideal for handheld use. A second case adds a 2-way extendable stand with 20-degree typing angle and 60-degree landscape viewing angle. Both versions are available bundled with a ClickSafe lock and cable.

“We are excited to offer our customers the superior protection, ease and simplicity of our ClickSafe security system for a tablet computer,” said Brian Baltezore, Senior Global Product Manager at Kensington. “Tablet users need security that will complement, not hinder, their use of the iPad. SecureBack is a design that truly pays respect to the tablet’s style and functionality, so that when an iPad user inevitably does have to walk away from their device, they can do so with confidence.”

New Kensington SecureBack Security Cases for iPad 2
Kensington SecureBack[TM] Security Case (K39308; SRP $49.99):
This version of SecureBack is ClickSafe “ready” via the built-in security anchor. Strength, security and elegant design come together in the SecureBack Security Case for iPad 2. A thin, yet strong three-piece construction protects the iPad with durable plastic while maintaining its sleek look and feel. The form-fitting design of the case resists prying to protect the iPad from being stolen and an adjustable slider bar allows quick access to ClickSafe(R) Security Anchor. SecureBack provides full access to all iPad 2 controls, buttons, ports and cameras.

Kensington SecureBack[TM] Security Case with 2-way Stand (K39310; SRP $59.99):
This version of the SecureBack case is ClickSafe “ready” via the built-in security anchor. In addition, the thin three-piece construction of the SecureBack[TM] Security Case with 2-way stand protects your iPad 2. The durable plastic case maintains its sleek look and feel, while a 2-way extendable stand accommodates flexible iPad orientation. Use the stand in landscape mode for typing or portrait mode for viewing movies or surfing the web.

Kensington SecureBack[TM] Security Case with ClickSafe Lock (K39309; SRP $79.99):
Securing the iPad 2 on the go is easy with the SecureBack[TM] Security Case with ClickSafe Lock. The thin, yet strong three-piece construction combines into a durable plastic case for iPad, while preserving access to all controls, buttons, ports, and cameras. An adjustable slider bar allows quick access to ClickSafe(R) Security Anchor or covers it when not in use. The included ClickSafe Keyed Lock provides unparalleled ease of use to lock down the iPad 2 with just one click. ClickSafe’s advanced cable construction of 7×7 configuration is specifically used to combat thievery attempts, assuring that the tablet, and all of the data on it, are always secure.

Kensington SecureBack[TM] Security Case with 2-way Stand & ClickSafe Lock (K39311; SRP $89.99):
Achieve maximum productivity and superior security for your iPad 2 with the SecureBack[TM] Security Case with 2-way stand & ClickSafe Lock. The thin, yet strong three-piece construction combines into a durable plastic case for iPad, while a 2-way extendable stand accommodates flexible iPad orientation for landscape or portrait viewing. An adjustable slider bar allows quick access to ClickSafe(R) Security Anchor and an included ClickSafe Keyed Lock provides unparalleled ease of use to safeguard the tablet at all times, with just one click.

Product Availability
The Kensington SecureBack Security Case line of products is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com, Kensington.com and other major retailers. For additional information on the new and existing line of Kensington products, please visit http://www.kensington.com.

Follow Kensington on Twitter @KensingtonZone

Visit the Kensington SafeZone blog: http://blog.kensington.com/security/Show full PR text

Kensington Delivers the Next Level of Physical Security for iPad 2
Extends the ClickSafe[TM] Family of Security Products to Protect iPads[TM] In Public Environments
Redwood Shores, Calif. – September 14, 2011 – Kensington Computer Products Group, a worldwide computing accessories provider for the mobile professional, today introduced a new line of ClickSafe(R) enabled security cases for the iPad 2. The new SecureBack[TM] Case uses Kensington’s smart. safe. simple.[TM] ClickSafe(R) technology to secure the iPad and prevent device and data theft.

The loss or theft of an iPad can result in severe consequences for users who rely on them-from lost productivity to replacement costs. The most serious compromise is the loss of sensitive personal and business data residing on iPad devices. Gartner projects that 80% of businesses will support a workforce using tablets by 2013 and Kensington’s smart. safe. simple.[TM] approach to iPad 2 security ensures a smart first line of defense for tablet users wherever they go.

Kensington’s family of SecureBack cases features a unique three-piece design with a patent- pending rail system that quickly and easily secures the iPad to prevent theft. The case includes the world-class ClickSafe Security Anchor that enables iPad users to easily lock their tablet, in just one click. Designed to complement the iPad in every way, SecureBack preserves the tablet’s celebrated, slim form factor. SecureBack offers full access to the iPad 2’s ports, speaker, and cameras. The integrated security bar on each case can tilt the iPad for an ideal on-screen typing angle.

Kensington has introduced two versions of the SecureBack case. The first features one-click security in a sleek form factor ideal for handheld use. A second case adds a 2-way extendable stand with 20-degree typing angle and 60-degree landscape viewing angle. Both versions are available bundled with a ClickSafe lock and cable.

“We are excited to offer our customers the superior protection, ease and simplicity of our ClickSafe security system for a tablet computer,” said Brian Baltezore, Senior Global Product Manager at Kensington. “Tablet users need security that will complement, not hinder, their use of the iPad. SecureBack is a design that truly pays respect to the tablet’s style and functionality, so that when an iPad user inevitably does have to walk away from their device, they can do so with confidence.”

New Kensington SecureBack Security Cases for iPad 2
Kensington SecureBack[TM] Security Case (K39308; SRP $49.99):
This version of SecureBack is ClickSafe “ready” via the built-in security anchor. Strength, security and elegant design come together in the SecureBack Security Case for iPad 2. A thin, yet strong three-piece construction protects the iPad with durable plastic while maintaining its sleek look and feel. The form-fitting design of the case resists prying to protect the iPad from being stolen and an adjustable slider bar allows quick access to ClickSafe(R) Security Anchor. SecureBack provides full access to all iPad 2 controls, buttons, ports and cameras.

Kensington SecureBack[TM] Security Case with 2-way Stand (K39310; SRP $59.99):
This version of the SecureBack case is ClickSafe “ready” via the built-in security anchor. In addition, the thin three-piece construction of the SecureBack[TM] Security Case with 2-way stand protects your iPad 2. The durable plastic case maintains its sleek look and feel, while a 2-way extendable stand accommodates flexible iPad orientation. Use the stand in landscape mode for typing or portrait mode for viewing movies or surfing the web.

Kensington SecureBack[TM] Security Case with ClickSafe Lock (K39309; SRP $79.99):
Securing the iPad 2 on the go is easy with the SecureBack[TM] Security Case with ClickSafe Lock. The thin, yet strong three-piece construction combines into a durable plastic case for iPad, while preserving access to all controls, buttons, ports, and cameras. An adjustable slider bar allows quick access to ClickSafe(R) Security Anchor or covers it when not in use. The included ClickSafe Keyed Lock provides unparalleled ease of use to lock down the iPad 2 with just one click. ClickSafe’s advanced cable construction of 7×7 configuration is specifically used to combat thievery attempts, assuring that the tablet, and all of the data on it, are always secure.

Kensington SecureBack[TM] Security Case with 2-way Stand & ClickSafe Lock (K39311; SRP $89.99):
Achieve maximum productivity and superior security for your iPad 2 with the SecureBack[TM] Security Case with 2-way stand & ClickSafe Lock. The thin, yet strong three-piece construction combines into a durable plastic case for iPad, while a 2-way extendable stand accommodates flexible iPad orientation for landscape or portrait viewing. An adjustable slider bar allows quick access to ClickSafe(R) Security Anchor and an included ClickSafe Keyed Lock provides unparalleled ease of use to safeguard the tablet at all times, with just one click.

Product Availability
The Kensington SecureBack Security Case line of products is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com, Kensington.com and other major retailers. For additional information on the new and existing line of Kensington products, please visit http://www.kensington.com.

Follow Kensington on Twitter @KensingtonZone

Visit the Kensington SafeZone blog: http://blog.kensington.com/security/

Kensington SecureBack case keeps iPads safe originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple prepares to open 5th store in China

According to M.I.C. Gadget, Apple is close to opening yet another flagship store in China. The retail store is located in one of Shanghai’s most popular shopping districts and supposedly has five stories of retail space. The store was expected to open in August but construction problems delayed the launch.

Though a date has not yet been set, the store is nearing its grand opening. The red curtain covering the store has been opened to reveal a large Apple logo and the promise that Apple will “…light up Nanjing road.” Workers have also been spotted wheeling in crates that presumably contain merchandise, decorations and other items for the store.

Apple prepares to open 5th store in China originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to select image from Library in iPhone

In this article we will see how to image select from phone gallery and display the same image in the application. So let see how it will worked.

Step 1: Open the Xcode, Create a new project using View Base application. Give the application “SelectImage”.

Step 2: Xcode automatically creates the directory structure and adds essential frameworks to it. You can explore the
directory structure to check out the content of the directory.

Step 3: Expand classes and notice Interface Builder created the ViewController class for you. Expand Resources and
notice the template generated a separate nib, SelectImage ViewController.xib for the SelectImage application.

Step 4: Open the SelectImageViewController.h file and make the following changes in the file:

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
@interface SelectImageViewController : UIViewController
< UIImagePickerControllerDelegate , UINavigationControllerDelegate>
{
IBOutlet UIImageView *imageSelect;
IBOutlet UIButton *libraryButton;
}
@property(nonatomic,retain) UIImageView *imageSelect;
@property(nonatomic,retain) UIButton *libraryButton;
–(IBAction)LibraryPicture;
@end

Step 5: Double click the SelectImageViewController.xib file and open it to the Interface Builder. Firs drag the ImageView from the libraryand place it to the view window. Connect File’s Owner icon to the UIImageView and select imageSelect. Now drag the button from thelibrary and place it to the view window, select button and bring up Connection Inspector connect Touch Up Inside to the File’s Owner iconand select LibraryPicture. Now save the .xib file and go back to the Xcode.

Step 6: Open the SelectImageViewController.m file and change the following changes:

#import "SelectImageViewController.h"
@implementation SelectImageViewController
@synthesize imageSelect;
@synthesize libraryButton;
– (void)dealloc
{
[imageSelect release];
//[takePictureButton release];
[libraryButton release];
[super dealloc];
}
– (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
// Releases the view if it doesn’t have a superview.
[super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
// Release any cached data, images, etc that aren’t in use.
}
–(IBAction)LibraryPicture
{
if([UIImagePickerController isSourceTypeAvailable:
UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypePhotoLibrary])
{
UIImagePickerController *picker= [[UIImagePickerController alloc]init];
picker.delegate = self;
picker.sourceType = UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypePhotoLibrary;
[self presentModalViewController:picker animated:YES];
[picker release];
}
}
–(void)imagePickerController:(UIImagePickerController *)picker
didFinishPickingImage : (UIImage *)image
editingInfo:(NSDictionary *)editingInfo
{
imageSelect.image = image;
[picker dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];
}
–(void)imagePickerControllerDidCancel:(UIImagePickerController *) picker
{
[picker dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];
}
– (void)viewDidUnload
{
[super viewDidUnload];
// Release any retained subviews of the main view.
// e.g. self.myOutlet = nil;
}
– (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)interfaceOrientation
{
// Return YES for supported orientations
return (interfaceOrientation == UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait);
}
@end

Step 7: Now compile and run the application on the Simulator.

You can Download SourceCode from SelectImage

Lion in VMware Fusion

The new version 4.0 of VMware Fusion for OS X was released today, and one of its major new features is that it supports virtualizing OS X Lion. Installing Lion in a VM is incredibly simple, as described below.

First, launch Fusion 4 and create a new virtual machine (Choose New from the File menu). The New Virtual Machine Assistant window will appear. Now just drag your ‘Install Mac OS X Lion’ installer app (downloaded from the Mac App Store) into that window.

Creating a new VM

Fusion will recognise the installer and will configure the virtual machine appropriately. You can tweak the settings for better guest performance if you like. Click through the rest of the assistant, and launch the VM. The Lion installer will appear automatically.

Lion Installer in VMware

Choose to (re)install Lion when you’re asked, and the installation process will begin. You should find that it runs very quickly indeed; mine took less than 10 minutes in total.

Install Succeeded

The installation should complete without any problems. Wait for the VM to restart, then go through the usual OS X setup assistant process. Feel free to fill in your Apple ID etc – the Lion license agreement permits virtualization, so you’ve not done anything wrong.

And that’s it – you’re running Lion in a VM!

OS X Lion in VMware Fusion 4 on Lion

The last thing you should do is install the VMware Tools (from the Virtual Machine menu), to enable multiple screen resolutions, shared folders and so on.

Fusion 4 also supports the new Windows 8 Developer Preview which was released last night, which is also well worth playing with. Just select the ISO image in the New Virtual Machine Assistant, and choose Windows 7 as the operating system.

Windows 8 in VMware Fusion 4

Remember: the Command/Apple key corresponds to the Windows key, and will get you back to the Start screen from within any app. Also try hovering over the left/right edges of the screen to switch between apps.

I’ve been talking about Lion quite extensively recently, and I’m also excited about Windows 8. If you want to be the first to know about new articles on those topics (and others), consider following me (@mattgemmell) on Twitter.

Authorship

I was recently re-reading an online conversation I had some time ago regarding anonymous comments, and I’d like to expand upon the general issue it raised: that of authorship.

As someone who spends an increasing amount of time writing for the web and for print, there are several ways that attitudes to authorship affect me. Let’s talk about them individually.

Reproduction

I very often find my articles linked to from elsewhere on the internet, which is of course wonderful and the whole point of the web. Referring and responding to what I write is very much encouraged, and I’m always happy to see such references and follow-ups.

Occasionally, and increasingly, though, I find the entire content of a piece reproduced on another site. Putting aside questions of legality, I find the practice extremely rude, annoying, and intellectually dishonest. Each writer has a moral right to control how and where their content is presented, particularly in situations where the presentation approaches passing off one person’s work as another’s.

There are a worrying number of sites that claim to aggregate material on a particular topic, and seem to feel entirely justified in reproducing articles in full (often using the laughable and morally bankrupt justification that you have an RSS feed, so you’ve somehow already given permission for the content to be shown in full elsewhere).

We have a word for that: plagiarism. You can argue the finer points all you like, but that’s what it amounts to. Don’t do it. Link, extract, quote in summary, and ideally contribute some editorial of your own – but don’t just reproduce content.

 Attribution

Choose a segment to quote which summarises the reason you’re interested in the article, and quote it with attribution. A simple link may not be enough to avoid the perception that you’re being sleazy about it, though. Some disturbing current practices include:

  • Quoting without preamble, which is tantamount to passing off. Use a suitable introduction to clearly indicate where the extracted content begins, and/or see the next point.

  • Not quoting explicitly, thus making the quoted content seem to be inline and part of your own piece. Use a blockquote, quotation marks, and/or some design element to indicate the boundaries of extracted work.

  • Bottom-attribution for anything but a relatively brief quote. There’s a certain length after which a quote should be attributed before the quote itself. It’s as much for the reader’s comprehension as anything else, but it’s also a more honest style of reference.

  • Attribution links which don’t mention the author. It’s not sufficient to simply have an unadorned “source” or “via” hyperlink, or even a raw domain name. Attribution isn’t just mechanical; it’s the concept of associating an author with a piece of work.

    The wording of your preamble, link anchor text or otherwise should provide attribution, regardless of whether the reader clicks the link. It’s disingenuous to the point of childishness to claim that a bare “source” link constitutes morally acceptable attribution. Mention the author’s name (first and last).

  • Attribution links which don’t take the reader to the source material. If you’re quoting a particular piece of work, your link should go to that specific piece, unless technically infeasible. A link to a blog’s index page, which will change over time and cause the specific piece to scroll off out of sight and into the past, just isn’t sufficient.

    By providing a generic attribution link, you’re creating the subtle impression that whilst the author is attributed, the specific piece of work may have been created for your own use rather than being published by the author previously. It’s scoop-stealing, and it’s tawdry.

These aren’t rules that any reasonable person needs to memorise; they’re common decency, bred of respect for your fellow human beings. Extend the same scholarly courtesy you’d expect for your own pieces.

Identity

The opposite side of attribution is identity – the claiming of a piece of work as your own when you write it. It’s comparatively rare to see long-form work without the author’s name attached, but the internet is awash with deliberately anonymised comments, tweets and forum postings.

Anonymous (henceforth, meaning either anonymous or the more common pseudonymous) comments are a difficult issue. There are a few limited scenarios where anonymity may be desirable (whistleblower sites, repressive regimes, places with an audience vulnerable for reasons of youth, gender or some other factor), but those are scenarios borne of social problems rather than the core factor of identity. I’m interested in discussing the principle of identity itself, which in the vast majority of online scenarios is the appropriate primary consideration.

The watchword of authorship is accountability. We judge a writer by their words, and we judge words by their writer. The linkage between author and writing is so profound as to call into question the very validity of words without an identifiable author. There’s a fundamental need for traceable, credible, accountable authorship in online writing.

Skirting around the unseemly issue of the kind of half-person who hides behind anonymity as an excuse for bad behaviour (as aptly described by John Gabriel’s Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory), the use of an obscure nickname or the avoidance of identification presents genuine problems for the material you write.

We’re inseparable from our identities, and our most basic convention for identity is the idea of real name. By using our real names, we immediately convey:

  • Authenticity. The genuineness of an actual person, as represented online. A promotion to actual human status, rather than some half-imagined fleeting caricature or character. There’s a moderating force to authenticity. You have that little bit more of a chance of being treated as a living, breathing person who has valuable insight to provide.

  • Conviction. The sense that you stand by your own words. Notwithstanding the extenuating situations mentioned earlier, there’s almost never a situation where discourse isn’t vastly improved by the use of our real identities. Your name says “I believe sufficiently in what I’m saying to say it as myself”.

  • Lack of presumption. Acknowledging and pre-empting the inevitable remarks about this point being made by someone whose middle name is ‘Legend’, there’s a certain childishness to online nicknames. Yes, you may have been called Captain or Nitro or Skull since the dawn of the internet, but for goodness’ sake: your name is Colin.

    I can deal with you on the basis of being Colin, but it’s difficult to take your nickname seriously. Everything you say is implicitly suffixed with “but then, I’m a person who calls himself Nitro”. That’s not the impression you ever want to convey.

One argument I’ve heard in favour of anonymous comments is that of privacy. I confess to not really understanding the relevance; it’s a bit of a “have your cake and eat it” sort of proposition.

I can understand (to some degree) the desire to not provide contact information for the sake of avoiding direct follow-ups or spam, but that’s a separate issue from identity. Privacy is a right, but also a responsibility – you must take reasonable steps to maintain your own privacy. If you’re so concerned with privacy that you don’t wish to use your own name online, then you’re choosing to sacrifice the credibility and accountability that your real identity conveys.

Some blogs (this one currently included) will allow you to make that choice, but I can equally see some very convincing reasons for banning anonymous or pseudonymous contributions entirely. It’s not a matter of you having a right to privacy and thus to post anonymous comments; if it’s anonymous, then it isn’t you who’s commenting at all. It’s someone else, or rather no-one.

To equate a desire for privacy with a wish to comment anonymously is confused thinking. A comment is a view or an opinion; it’s inherently of a person. It just doesn’t make sense to me to allow comments without attribution, and I don’t understand the (actual) motivation behind wanting to do so. Everything anyone ever says is attributable to the person who said it. It’s not possible to separate authorship from the words.

If your concept of privacy extends to not being able to have any public opinions attributable to you, then the logical course of action is to not participate in public discussions. I think that “privacy” in the context of comments on the web is almost always just a crutch for lack of conviction, cowardliness or even (dare I say it) paranoia.

I’m not saying that anonymous information can’t have value – it clearly can; for example: I have no idea who specifically wrote the owner’s manual for my car, but it still successfully tells me what all the controls on the dashboard do – but rather, that comments (which I’d say are overwhelmingly opinions/feedback/views) have no weight without attribution.

Your opinion isn’t yours unless you’re part of it. For the vast majority of situations when dealing with comments (i.e. reader-submitted addenda or responses to a piece of writing), I’d say that attribution is what makes a view have value. When I comment on your blog, or talk to you on Twitter or anywhere else, it’ll be as Matt Gemmell – or a username that’s as close to my name as I can make it (for several examples, here’s my contact info).

My blog isn’t a democracy, but I’m eager to actually engage in a conversation with you. So, please: provide your real name. Leave the nickname on Xbox Live. Providing a URL is very desirable, for a blog, Twitter account or profile page – something that identifies and expands upon you.

Of course, the best comment of all is a follow-up, be it a brief thought on Twitter, or (even better) an article on your own blog which sends a trackback.

Own your identity, and make sure your words are always tagged with it. Stand by what you write, be accountable, and moderate your impulsive need to respond by considering the value of your reputation. The internet will be a better place, and your views will be read with more willingness to engage and a deeper respect for you as a person.

You can quote me on that.

Blogging With Octopress

It’s been almost two years since this blog last changed significantly, and in that time
I’ve become a bit dissatisfied with it for a few reasons:

  1. WordPress is excellent, but it’s over-featured for what I need, and its PHP/MySQL guts are opaque. I don’t really like the idea of all my writing being inside a big database either; it’s a single point of failure, and that makes me uneasy.

  2. Despite using various caching plugins (WP-supercache, W3 Total Cache, DBCache Reloaded), the site still became very unresponsive during the several fireballs I’ve had.

  3. I’ve become increasingly invested in a philosophy of simplicity and portability. I do all my writing in the Markdown format, for example, and I value software that’s laser-focused and as purposeful as possible (that’s why I do most of my work in BBEdit).

For all these reasons, I’ve decided to make a change: this blog is now entirely static HTML, or is “baked” as the term seems to be.

The system I’m using to generate the blog is called Octopress by Brandon Mathis, which is a framework around Jekyll. You can run it wherever you like (locally, or even on your server), and it will generate an entirely static web site for you, and even rsync it to where you’re hosting from.

If you’re wondering about whether to “bake” your own blog or site, I can recommend these three posts by Brent Simmons on why you should consider it. I can also highly recommend Octopress as the means of doing it.

A few points of note:

  • I now use Disqus for comments. It’s an excellent service, and free. They can import comments from your WordPress (or other) blog, and those comments will persist if your new permalinks are the same as the old ones (as they ought to be), and naturally they support Akismet, Gravatar, and all manner of social media integration. The admin/moderation dashboard is excellent too. Really, give them a try.

  • I exported all of my existing WordPress posts to suitable Markdown files using exitwp. I tweaked the script a little to not perform any HTML-to-Markdown conversion whatsoever, so I could preserve my already Markdown-formatted posts with their existing paragraph breaks etc.

  • The visual design of this blog is just the default Octopress theme. I think it’s attractive and very readable, and don’t see much reason to change it. It’s all about the content, after all. It also has a mobile equivalent built in.

  • Octopress knows about Twitter, Google Analytics, Google Plus and various other services, and has built-in integration with them. One of the main things that have impressed me about Octopress is how it seems to have the same opinion as I do regarding what’s needed and what’s superfluous.

  • It also includes a preview server for local staging, which will regenerate the site on-the-fly as you make changes.

  • This is a moderately large blog (there are about 930 posts spanning several years, cross-linked across various categories). On this machine (3.4 GHz i7, 16 GB, SSD), a full generation takes about 1 minute and 15 seconds.

  • If you want to use the wonderful MarsEdit blogging app on OS X with Octopress, you can! Dan Weeks wrote a script for that.

I’m sure there will be some rough spots as with any redesign, and feel free to get in touch to point them out, but overall I’m very, very happy indeed. The site should be more responsive under load, and it’s eminently portable, requiring nothing but a dumb web server.

As a final aside, if you’re looking for an excellent VPS host to put your own blog or site up on, I highly recommend Linode.

And now that’s entirely enough blogging about blogging, for another year or two at least.

Quick Look: iProgress

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the polls below if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review!

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting iProgress. The developer describes iProgress as a way to give your life a BOOST! with iProgress. iProgress is part of our life-changing line and is primarily designed to help you incorporate new activities into your life, increase your everyday efficiency and to assist you reaching your goals. One step at a time, day after day, month after month until you’re done, using randomly generated reminders, precise statistics and Introspector.

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

iProgress

iProgress

About the App

Here are the top three features you can expect to see in the latest version:

  • Innovative approach
  • High efficiency
  • Combined features

Requirements: iOS 3.0 and up

Price: $2.99

Developer: Nitromsoft Entertainment Renaissance

Vote for a Review

Would you like to see us write a full review of iProgress? Have your say in our poll:

Would you like to see iProgress reviewed in-depth on AppStorm?

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the poll if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review! If you’re a developer and would like to have your app profiled, you can submit it here.

Moodagent Plays Music to Match Your Mood

Do you have a vast music collection but find you’re sometimes indecisive as to what to listen to? Or maybe you’d just love to have a personal DJ who can read your mind and play all the right songs all the time? Moodagent is an app that creates genius playlists from your iPhone’s music library by categorizing each song’s qualities.

The results are Moodagent playlists tailored perfectly to match whatever mood you’re in, and which can be adjusted on the fly, saved and replayed and shared via social media. Plus, Moodagent’s unique technology enables the app to give you song recommendations based on the musical profile of whatever song you’re listening to — then you can buy the tracks right off of iTunes and incorporate them into your playlists. Hit the jump and I’ll show you how it works.

Generating Playlists

You have two ways to generate playlists. First, you can use the five sliders that represent sensualness, tenderness, joy, aggressiveness and tempo. Adjusting these sliders creates or updates the playlist on the fly. Or you can disable certain sliders at any time by pulling them all the way down — for example, to exclude specific mood factors when Moodagent is compiling your playlist. The sliders will automatically adjust to display the exact mood setting of the best-matching track in your library.

Create playlists by adjusting the mood-sliders or selecting a seed track from your library.

Create playlists by adjusting the mood-sliders or selecting a seed track from your library.

You can also use a seed track to create a playlist. If you’re already listening to a playlist, click the Moodagent icon next to any song in the playlist to select that song as a seed track. Moodagent will then find other songs that are in harmony with that song’s music profile and update your current playlist accordingly. You can also manually choose a song by clicking the iPod icon in the top left of the screen, which will then display a list of all the songs on your device.

Adjustments and Settings

Tapping the Moodagent icon to the right of any song calls up a number of options: You can get recommendations based on that song, use the song as a seed track, exclude the track or artist, or remove that song from the playlist. You can also get recommendations based on whatever song is playing by tapping the music note symbol in the bottom righthand corner of the screen.

Tap the Moodagent icon next to each song for more options, such as getting recommendations.

Tap the Moodagent icon next to each song for more options, such as getting recommendations.

While viewing your playlist, tapping the ledger icon in the bottom left of the screen hides the mood-sliders to expand your playlist so you can see more of your upcoming songs. Playlist length, by the way, is dictated in the settings, and you have the option of selecting 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, or 100 songs per playlist. Note, however, that if you have too few songs on your device to meet the set playlist length, Moodagent will not create a playlist for you until you adjust this setting.

In Configure and Settings you can sync your music library, determine playlist length and more.

In Configure and Settings you can sync your music library, determine playlist length and more.

To reach settings, tap the wheel in the top righthand corner of the screen, which first calls up the Configure screen. Here you’ll find the option to sync Moodagent with your library if you’ve added any new music, update your social media connections, read the Help file, see lists of any excluded tracks or artists, and adjust your settings, i.e., playlist length, mood-sliders on/off and slider labels on/off.

Save, Replay and Share

Use your finger to scroll all the mood-sliders to the left to bring up additional options.

If Moodagent makes a playlist you love, you can name it and save it to listen to again later.

If Moodagent makes a playlist you love, you can name it and save it to listen to again later.

Your playlist song titles will remain in view, but the mood-sliders will be replaced with new buttons for naming and saving the playlist, opening a saved playlist, sharing Moodagent on Twitter and Facebook, and emailing a friend about Moodagent.

The Desktop Profiler

If you’d like to create the most accurately compiled playlists, or if you sync Moodagent and the app informs you there’s no profile for a significant number of tracks (for example, if your library contains music by a lot of independent artists), consider using the Moodagent Profiler.

Moodagent's Desktop Profiler listens to your unidentified songs to create their musical profiles.

Moodagent's Desktop Profiler listens to your unidentified songs to create their musical profiles.

This desktop application (runs on Windows PC or Intel-based Macs) anonymously analyzes your music by actually listening to each of your songs, taking into account the emotion, mood, genre, sub-genre, style, tempo, beat, vocals, instruments and production features. The application then assigns a track a music profile, provided that the track carries an artist name and song title and is not protected by DRM. Profile creation is only done once, so any tracks in your library that already have existing profiles in the Moodagent Cloud will be skipped.

Final Thoughts

In addition to the free, ad-supported version of Moodagent 3.0, the app is available without ads for a cost. Aside from the ads (which aren’t really that intrusive) in the free version, downsides to Moodagent in general include the inability to create music profiles for tracks that are protected by DRM or tracks that are shorter than 30 seconds or longer than 25 minutes. But really, those downsides are hardly deal breakers.

Positives include the fact that once you have a playlist playing, you can exit Moodagent to use other apps on your iPhone and your music will continue to play. Also, all native iPhone remote control commands work in harmony with Moodagent, including placing a song on pause when you receive a phone call. And although some users might see installing the desktop profiler as an added hassle, Moodagent has at least provided very clear instructions on how to install and use the application, which removes the guesswork.

Overall, I found Moodagent to be fun, easy and useful, and because it takes more factors into consideration per song than iTunes’ Genius, the resulting playlists tended to be more accurate as far as matching moods was concerned. And remember that because Moodagent utilizes a musical cloud, the app’s accuracy and speed will continue to improve its community grows, with more songs being added every day.

Win One of Two Piolos!

Sometimes, people create something that’s so simple and basic that you slap your palm on your forehead and say, “Why didn’t I think of that!” The Piolo is just one of those products. And better yet, you can win one of two of these little brilliant pieces of work, just by entering our contest. How do you do that? Just click on that little More button, and we’ll tell you!

About the Piolo

At its core, the Piolo is essentially a kickstand for your iPhone. It’s designed to slide over the end of the device, and hold it up at an angle for easy viewing. When I first saw it on the web, I thought that it was pretty neat, but I figured that it would come down to a hands-on test of the thing to find out if it was really worth it.

The Piolo

The Piolo

So here’s the crazy thing: See that little hole in the end of it? I put my keychain through there and now it’s with me everywhere I go. It’s stupid convenient to have, and now I just prop up my iPhone wherever I need to and get things done. It’s pretty cool.

How to Enter

Now it’s time for the contest part. To win, just follow @iphoneappstorm and @thepiolodotcom and post the following on your Twitter account:

I just entered to win a Piolo from @thepiolodotcom and @iphoneappstorm! #appstorm

That’s it! We’ll tally up the entries sometime in the next few days and pick two of you to win! Thanks to all that enter!

BackStab: Console-Quality Gaming for the iPhone

Gameloft’s BackStab is hailed as a leap forward in 3D graphics and free-roaming adventure for the iOS platform. The graphics are stunning — from the movement, to the action and the cut scenes. The island, which contains many exotic environments, will impress you and demand your utmost attention. It will be hard to find a competitor for such a solid game.

Of course, there’s more to the story. Just click on to find out.

Amazing Visuals

Graphics, performance, scope, playability and pure entertainment — that’s a lot of bases to cover, and too many games on the market focus on one aspect while letting gamers down in others. With BackStab’s ambitious free-roaming 3D environment heavily touted, the question is whether or not the devs dropped the ball elsewhere.

Precariously scaling the wall will get your heart pumping

Precariously scaling the wall will get your heart pumping

BackStab offers players the opportunity to become Henry Blake, disillusioned former Royal Navy officer, out for blood. It’s a fairly traditional premise — good guy gone rogue. Blake lives only for vengeance now, and the game’s gory, combat-centric gameplay highlights this.

It’s combo-based combat, another ambitious choice for the developers, considering the complexity of the graphics and environments. BackStab isn’t just combat, however, it’s combat in an adventure setting. Specifically, BackStab takes place in the Caribbean during the eighteenth century, which means a variety of pirates and sailors will bear the brunt of Blake’s rage.

Only John Wayne could do better

Only John Wayne could do better

The setup is simple; a brief cut scene precedes the main menu, where the player indicates right- or left-handedness and the appropriate language setting. All of the other game settings are available from this menu as well, for adjustment as the player sees fit.

Interface & Functionality

The simplicity and intuitiveness of the main menu interface isn’t a fluke; the game maintains its user-friendly design throughout. The game functions as an on-the-job training, as Blake picks up the combat skills he needs as the player progresses through the game’s prologue.

The combat controls are sensitive, which is a good thing, since Blake’s reflexes need to be razor sharp. The placement of the joystick can be customized, allowing the player to position it wherever it is most comfortable during gameplay. On screen indicators, like the level map and Blake’s vitality, are easy to read and readily accessible, displayed on screen.

Start jumping like LeBron James to survive!

Start jumping like LeBron James to survive!

Design & Performance

Design and performance have been grouped here because of the scope of what BackStab proposes to accomplish. It’s one thing to cram a console-type 3D adventure into an iPhone; it’s another thing entirely to get good performance out of it. The design aspects of the game are unrivaled on iOS. The free-roaming environment promise was one I took with a grain of salt, but BackStab delivers.

The island offers a nice variety of environments, four different cities and Blake’s given free rein through all of it. Even better, the game performed very smoothly on my iPhone 4. That’s saying something, because it’s not only the environment getting the premium treatment.

Only way to survive is to go in guns blazing

Only way to survive is to go in guns blazing

The characters, including Blake, are fully 3D, and between combat and Blake’s other abilities — climbing, shimmying, jumping, etc. — BackStab really puts those graphics to work. Combat and movement are supported by a fantastic physics engine, adding another layer of realism to the game.

The game’s performance and it’s buttery smooth 3D are just the foundation for the game’s appeal. The aesthetics are very good — the concept art behind BackStab, one imagines, was comprehensive and high quality. It shows in the detail of the landscapes and the care taken to create the gritty, every-man for himself, survival-of-the-fittest eighteenth century pirate vibe. It’s a blend of fantasy and realism that works very well.

There are some performance glitches occasionally, but these are usually fixed by trying another movement or adjusting the camera angle; nothing that really interrupted my gameplay.

Comparisons to Other Games

There really isn’t much on iOS, if anything, to compare BackStab to. The obvious off-iOS comparison is Assassin’s Creed, of course. The open environment and kill-everyone-in-your-way mentality make that unavoidable.

Tomb Raider fans will recognize some of Blake’s maneuvers and get an immediate feel for the game’s physics. Some of Blake’s stealthier kills bring to mind Splinter Cell, but BackStab only incorporates elements of the games mentioned above, and it stands alone on iOS.

Value

BackStab is reasonably priced at $6.99. It’s a fitting price point for several reasons. Considering the game’s size, content and quality, it’s a deal — you’d expect to pay much more for a PC or console game that offered the same.

As an unknown franchise, however, and being a somewhat experimental leap forward, I’d have hesitated to invest more. There are the random (and not awfully intrusive) bugs, and I can’t speak for how the game might perform on other devices.

Closing Thoughts & Rating

BackStab opens the door for those who want more immersive, 3D gameplay on iOS. I absolutely loved the environments and the Pirates of the Carribean minus Disney feel. That said, those who aren’t into violence in their video games — or like it prettied up, toned down, or less bloody — should think twice.

Those fantastic graphics and attention to detail extend to every area of gameplay, including slitting throats. And Blake has a lot of throats to slit. Though, considering the game’s title, perhaps a warning about graphic violence is unnecessary. I’d like to see the bugs worked out and the combat made a little more complex — that done, I’d like to see BackStab expanded into a full franchise. Given that my only criticism of BackStab came from the occasional technical hiccup, and that wasn’t too disruptive, this is a solid game.

Quick Look: Fast, a Speedometer

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the polls below if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review!

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting Fast, a Speedometer. The developer describes Fast, a Speedometer as a simple and beautiful speedometer for the iPhone. It is typically accurate within 1 MPH, and there are 3 speed-modes for different activities. The interface has 6 color themes that users can choose from!

Fast’s Heads-Up-Display function reflects onto a user’s car windshield for night driving.

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

Fast, a Speedometer

Fast, a Speedometer

Fast, a Speedometer

Fast, a Speedometer

About the App

Here are the top five features you can expect to see in the latest version:

  • Gorgeous interface
  • MPH/KPH
  • Heads Up Display
  • Multiple color themes
  • GPS Accuracy

Requirements: iPhone 3G, 3GS, or 4

Price: $0.99

Developer: Brennan Zelener

Vote for a Review

Would you like to see us write a full review of Fast, a Speedometer? Have your say in our poll:

Would you like to see Fast, a Speedometer reviewed in-depth on AppStorm?

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the poll if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review! If you’re a developer and would like to have your app profiled, you can submit it here.

Squarespace: The Easy Way to Blog

Starting a blog or website can be difficult. There are seemingly countless options for where to host your site, what kind of publishing system you should use, how you’ll get things to the site; the amount of options can be freeing but also paralyzing, as it’s hard to find one that will work “just right” for what you have in mind.

Enter Squarespace. Squarespace is a hosting and publishing system designed to make running a weblog or website incredibly easy. Outside of being such a well-integrated service, the part of the deal that really sweetened the pot for me was the fact that they had a native iPhone app, titled appropriately enough, Squarespace. Read on to find out why this was such a big deal!

On Squarespace

Before we begin, it’s important to note that Squarespace is not a free service. Their iPhone (and iPad) apps are free, but the rest of what they provide is not. This will stop some of you from reading any further; if you’re still interested, continue on.

Beginning with the App

On first launch, the Squarspace app will ask you for your account information and, if you don’t already have an account, prompt you to sign up for their free trial. Since I already have a website that is run using Squarespace, getting the app to work was as easy as plugging my login credentials in and waiting for the app to populate.

Account/Login Page

Account/Login Page

The app aims to be an integrated solution for all of your mobile needs. There are options to create a post, manage existing posts and comments, preview your site, and viewing specific statistics about your site. Each of these views has been extensively thought out, aiming to provide an intuitive experience to make your life easier.

I tend to harp on the interface in my reviews, but it’s because I believe that unless an app makes you want to use it, especially by looking nice (or, at least, not being offensive to the eyes) you, well, won’t want to use it. Fortunately, the Squarespace app doesn’t disappoint; they make the best of a simple color palette, using just the right amount of textures and chrome to look nice without being distracting.

Posting to your Site

Posting is made simple with the Squarespace app. All you need to do is hit the little Post tab, populate the title and body text, and begin writing. Posting can be done in different ways: by default, Squarespace supports WYSIWYG, Textile, HTML and Markdown editing. Personally, I prefer Markdown; it’s lightweight, easy to use, and easy to read when it’s time to edit.

Squarespace's New Post pane

Squarespace's New Post pane

Say, though, that you would like to post a picture. Squarespace makes that easy: underneath the default view there’s a camera pane, where you can choose to take a new photo or choose from the photos already on your phone. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a way to just post a photo, as the app requires that some form of text be entered before it gives the option of posting to your site.

Those looking for more granular control can also find it in the Settings pane beneath the main posting window. There you can assign a category and/or tags to your post, making sure that any Archive that you have stays up to date. You can also, in a rather bizarre way, change the date that is attached to the post.

Statistics

The main reason I absolutely love the Squarespace app is its statistics view. I don’t post to my site from my iPhone very often, but I do check on it very frequently. Luckily, Squarespace knows exactly what information I want to see when I’m on the go, and presents it with a set of easy-to-navigate bar graphs representing different data sets.

Site statistics aren’t complete without the number of pageviews you’ve gotten on a certain day. In my experience this graph updates fairly frequently, so you’re not left wondering whether you’re getting the latest information. Beyond simple pageviews, though, this graph does some pretty neat things when you swipe through its different views.

Squarespace gives you a lot of information in an efficient package.

Squarespace gives you a lot of information in an efficient package.

Take, for example, the case that I want to see how many unique visitors I have. This gives me a feel for how many actual people are viewing my site and, in conjuction with the overall pageviews, gives me a rough idea at how many different pages they decided to poke around during their stay. This information is one swipe away, and one swipe beyond that I can see how many robots have crawled my site — an interesting, if slightly unusual, view.

Other useful information is conveyed on the same page. Subscribers counts the number of people that have subscribed to your site’s RSS feed. Handy information for when you’re trying to see if you’re gaining or losing people.

For some, though, the most useful views will be Search and Referrers. This allows you to see what Google (or other search engine) queries led to someone finding your site. Handy information that also shows just how well the site’s built-in SEO (search engine optimization) works. Referrers shows who has been linking to your site; this way, you know that some people arrived from Twitter, others from Digg and some others from a different writer.

Managing your Site

Another handy feature that will be more or less useful depending on your specific use case is the Manage pane. From there, you can view, edit, or delete posts and comments. I don’t have comments enabled on my site so that particular feature doesn’t help me at all, but I imagine it’s helpful when the Internet, without fail, leads to some nasty comments on your site.

You can view your posts in an efficient manner and see how they look after they're published to your site.

You can view your posts in an efficient manner and see how they look after they're published to your site.

My favorite use of the Manage pane is to check and make sure that my posts were properly formatted. There’s often a mix of human error and technical difficulties when you’re trying something new in a post, so it’s nice to be able to check and see that using footnotes didn’t turn your post into a horrible mess.

Conclusion

How the Squarespace app is used depends on how you choose to use it. For someone that would like to create shorter posts, or upload pictures to their site quickly, the app makes it easy to make sure your site gets updated. Unfortunately, during my time with the app I have noticed that there are times when the posting will fail, uploading a title and nothing else. Be wary, if you intend to use this app as a primary posting method.

Where this app really shines, though, is with its site statistics. It may be because every online writer wants to check in on how popular they are to soothe their ego, or it may be because you’re trying to see if a new strategy to get noticed has worked or not. For me, when I’m on the move, it’s nice to be able to check in and see what’s going on without feeling obligated to post something.

As I said above, this app was instrumental in me choosing Squarespace as a blogging platform. I recommend using the free trial offered by the service, if only for an excuse to play around with their excellent iOS app.

Weekly Poll: What Did You Think of Productivity Week?

We’re always looking for new ideas around here, and when the concept of doing an entire week on one topic came up, we decided to give it a go. I mean, everyone loves productivity apps, right? So why not go really in depth with the topic and see what happens?

But now we want to know what you think. Did you like productivity week? If so, would you like to see other themed weeks like Game Week, Lifestyle Week or anything else? Let us know in the poll to the right, and give us some specifics in the comments. Thanks!

VMware Fusion 4 levels up for Lion virtualization

Winter turns to spring, night to dawn… and the two 800 lb. gorillas of the Mac virtualization market trade updates once again. A fortnight ago it was Parallels 7 hitting with a new release, and today we note the debut of VMware Fusion 4.

The new version of the virtual PC tool from the enterprise experts in virtualization looks to offer better performance, easier virtual disk resizing, a reboot-free drag and drop install, more graceful migration for PC to Mac switchers, and a no-compromises story on Lion compatibility both for the host and the virtual machine.

Since Apple has changed the licensing rules on virtualizing Mac OS X with Lion, any Mac user is permitted to run up to two virtual Macs on their hardware. For developers and IT folk, the ability to test apps and configurations in a snapshot-enabled, break-it-and-revert-it virtual machine is a genuinely beautiful thing. Fusion 4 makes it terribly easy to create Lion VMs by dragging the “Install OS X Lion” Mac App Store app right into a starter virtual machine; there is no step 3.

Lion’s Mac-side features get a full workout with Fusion 4, as Windows apps can appear in Mission Control just as Mac apps do. You can launch Windows apps from Launchpad, Spotlight or the Applications folder — but only the ones you actually want to see and use on a regular basis, so Notepad and Minesweeper don’t need to show up. (Well, Notepad, anyway.) Keeping the launcher clutter to a minimum will help you keep your sanity. Lion’s full screen app support is respected, too; you can take Windows apps full screen and swipe between individual apps in their own Spaces, just as you do with full screen Mac apps.

The new version includes Virtual Bluetooth technology, allowing your Windows VMs to work with wirelessly tethered mobile phones. A new snapshot manager gives you more control over your virtual machine backups. You can even encrypt your VM storage and require a password to launch a virtual machine.

Fusion works with VMware’s migration technology to allow physical or virtual PCs to be cloned into a VM; that means PC users can have a replica of their old friend sitting just a click away. They won’t be hurting for performance, either, as the new 64-bit Cocoa build of Fusion will offer faster 3D (2.5x) and everyday app performance versus the previous 3.1 version.

New licenses of Fusion 4 are available at a discounted US$49.99 through the end of 2011, with a normal suggested retail price of $79.99. Those who bought Fusion 3 on/after July 20 are due a free upgrade. You won’t need to find a DVD drive to install the app on your MacBook Air, either; it ships on a handy USB drive.

Check out our gallery of virtualization pics, and if you’re looking to give it a try, scoot over to VMware’s site to download a free trial of Fusion 4.

Gallery: VMware Fusion 4

Show full PR text
VMware launches VMware Fusion(R) 4 – The Best Way to Run Windows on a Mac Just Got Better

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 14, 2011 – VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, today announced VMware Fusion(R) 4 – the best way to run Windows on a Mac. Available now at VMware.com for a promotional price of $49.99, VMware Fusion 4 makes it easier than ever for users to run Windows applications with Mac simplicity.

“Enhancements to VMware Fusion(R) 4 make it a breeze to run Windows and Mac Applications side by side on a Mac,” said Pat Lee, director, client product management, VMware. “Offering full integration into Apple OS X Lion, VMware Fusion 4 builds on our proven, award winning platform to provide an easy, fast and reliable way to run Windows applications on a Mac.”

With more than 90 new features and now optimized for today’s multi-core Macs and OS X Lion, key features in VMware Fusion 4 include:

· Built for OS X Lion – VMware Fusion 4 is designed to provide the best Windows experience on OS X Lion. Add Windows programs to Launchpad, experience them in Mission Control, view them in full screen or switch between them using Mac gestures.
· Better Performance and Faster Graphics – VMware Fusion 4 has been engineered to run Windows and Mac applications side-by-side with incredible speed and reliability. As a 64-bit Cocoa application, it is optimized for today’s multi-core Macs and delivers 3D graphics up to 2.5-times faster.
· Even More “Mac-like” Experience – VMware Fusion 4 enhances the way Windows programs run on a Mac. From the brand new settings menu to the redesigned virtual machine library and snapshot menu, users have even more Mac-like experiences when running Windows programs.
· Lion Squared – VMware Fusion 4 now supports OS X Lion in a virtual machine, allowing users to get more from their Mac by running OS X Lion, OS X Lion Server, Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server and Mac OS X Leopard Server in virtual machines.

Switching Made Easy
VMware Fusion’s migration assistant for Windows makes it easier than ever for users to transfer their entire PC to a Mac, allowing them to make the most of their existing Windows software investment. With VMware Fusion 4 users can get the best of both worlds and have access to Windows programs and files from their PC directly on their Mac, whenever they need them.

Availability and Pricing
VMware Fusion(R) 4 is available until the end of the year for a promotional price of only $49.99. The suggested retail price for VMware Fusion 4 is $79.99. Customers who have purchased VMware Fusion 3 on or after the July 20, 2011 are eligible for an electronic upgrade to VMware Fusion 4 at no additional cost. Volume pricing for corporate users is available from select resellers and www.vmware.com/fusion.

VMware Fusion 4 is available immediately for download and purchase from vmware.com. VMware Fusion box products will be available at key resellers including Apple, Apple.com, Amazon.com, Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics and many other stores in the coming days. VMware Fusion is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Japanese.

Additional Resources
Learn more about VMware Fusion on the VMware Fusion Blog

About VMware
VMware (NYSE: VMW) delivers virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable IT organizations to energize businesses of all sizes. With the industry leading virtualization platform – VMware vSphere(R) – customers rely on VMware to reduce capital and operating expenses, improve agility, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and go green. With 2010 revenues of $2.9 billion, more than 250,000 customers and 25,000 partners, VMware is the leader in virtualization, which consistently ranks as a top priority among CIOs. VMware is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.

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VMware Fusion 4 levels up for Lion virtualization originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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360iDev: Lessons from the design of Postage

Developer Chris Parrish hosted a talk this week here at 360iDev in Denver looking back on the development of Postage, RogueSheep’s Apple Design Award-winning virtual postcard designer and sharing app for the iPhone. He walked the developers in the crowd through a few of the lessons he and his team learned during development and a few of the principles they stuck by as they built the app.

Parrish said the first principle RogueSheep stuck to was focus. “Cut, cut, and cut some more” was the slide up on the screen. Parrish said that when they set out to make what’s basically an image-editing app, there were a lot of things they could have done, like including lots of tools and items to edit images in intricate ways and help users line them up just right. But it turned out that none of that fit the app they were trying to make. Instead, RogueSheep decided to boil the experience down so the user could go from image to postcard to pressing send in just 60 seconds. Parrish called it “putting the user on rails” — not limiting options, but guiding and rolling users along so the process is as quick and easy as possible.

Instead of the desktop model (which is what the team might have done if it really wanted to create that full tool-based experience), the focus of the app became the postcard itself. Parrish said the team worked to make sure that at every step in the process the postcard was always in view and clearly being built. Instead of moving from screen to screen, the interface slides around the virtual postcard, zooming in and focusing on whatever part of the area the user is working on. Even sending the postcard brings up an envelope instead of going off to some separate email screen, so users are always acutely aware of what they’re doing in the app and why.

That email sending feature led to one of the biggest compromises the designers had to make with the application. When it was first introduced, they had to cook up their own solution to send an email with the image directly from the app, a solution which came with its own pros and cons. They were able to use a custom HTML form for the email, but some users — and their spam filters — wondered about the email address the message apparently originated from. After the app was released, Apple allowed apps to send email through the OS, and the Postage team eventually decided to create their only preference option: Letting the user decide whether or not to use the custom emailer or the official one. Even that preference was hidden, however. Old users of the app just kept the old feature, while new users got offered the choice. The team wanted to make things as seamless as possible. Parrish said that devs dealing with whether an option should be offered or not should make the best decision they think possible; 80 percent of users will be grateful, even if the other 20 percent would rather have made the other choice.

Parrish also said that whenever you make an app, it’s always worth it to go the extra mile on the interface, using custom animations and doing it “right” whenever possible. The team worked for a long time on the “bounce” that the postcard first does when it drops into view, making sure it felt correct and natural. The buttons on the app were sized so they clipped off of the screen in order to inform the user that the button bars were actually scrollable. Parrish encouraged developers to make it look good, blending animations together and making them move in a natural and real way rather than just snapping into place because it’s easier to code.

That said, Parrish also recommended making use of Apple’s UI classes as much as possible. All of Postage’s interface buttons are subclasses of the official UI elements, though they’re styled and customized to fit in with the rest of the design. Parrish said that while it’s worth working on making things look right, it’s not worth writing up your own options only to have them break when Apple changes the system. Use Apple’s elements and work hard on the code, said Parrish, but then design it so it works for you and your users.

Parrish’s insight was really excellent, and it was great getting a look behind the scenes on Postage’s award-winning design.

360iDev: Lessons from the design of Postage originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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